One of my favourite things about John’s Gospel has always been the “I am” statements, the seven places where Jesus says (with an emphasis that’s hard to get across in English) “I am” followed by a big and illustrative metaphor: “I am the bread of life,” “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” … Continue reading Flock and Shepherd: A Reflection on John 10.11-18
One of the most notorious problems in theology (and belief in God more generally) is what is known as theodicy: the question of how God can be good and just in a world such as ours. While God still may have a lot of answer for — earthquakes, hurricanes, famines, plagues and pandemics, and so … Continue reading Human Action, God’s Action: A Reflection on Acts 3.12-19
One of the most striking things about the post-Resurrection stories in the New Testament is how they go out of their way to show just how radical, and radically different, of a community the earliest Church sought to be. The clear fact that, by and large, Christians have completely failed to live that out over … Continue reading No More Rivals: A Reflection on John 20.19-31 and Acts 4.32-35
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Or is he? One could be forgiven for feeling a bit confused and let down by the Easter Gospel today, because this year, we get Mark’s telling of the resurrection, which is even less joyful or triumphant than the others. If John’s resurrection narrative reads like a buddy cop romp, with … Continue reading The Last Word: A Reflection for Easter Sunday 2024
I don’t need to tell anyone that we are living in strange and frightening times. The world is changing in innumerable ways and it seems like society — and the people who make it up — are flailing in response. One of my only real consolations in this situation is that people have felt this … Continue reading Do Not Be Surprised: A Reflection on 1 Peter 4.12-14, 5.6-11
Matthew Root 