Last week’s readings asked the basic question, What does God want from us? We saw that the answer the Prophet Micah gave — to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God — is a pithier version of answers provided in the rest of the Old Testament, which can be summarized … Continue reading The Law of Jesus: A Reflection on Matthew 5.13-20
As a rule, Christians like to emphasize the ways in which the New Covenant revealed in and through Jesus differs from the Old. (This is particularly true of those coming from a Protestant background, since this was a particular emphasis of the Reformers.) And we are not wrong to do so — even if we … Continue reading What God Requires of Us: A Reflection on Micah 6.1-8 and Matthew 5.1-12
One of the most important moments in anyone’s life is the moment when we realize that we’re the grown up in the room; we’re the one who has to solve the problem, or step up into leadership. If done right, it’s a moment where we step into our identity and strength and truly become adults. … Continue reading The Summons: A Reflection on Matthew 4.12-23
There are few things more engaging in communication than a good metaphor. Not only do metaphors make what we’re saying more interesting, but they can often help to get across the emotion or experience of something better than a simple description. For example, a few years ago I described how I was feeling about life … Continue reading The Lamb of God: A Reflection on John 1.29-42
Today is the first Sunday after Epiphany, which means for us in the liturgical West that we commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. In the East, this is the story associated with the feast of Epiphany itself. It would seem that in the early Church, it all started as a general ‘festival … Continue reading God’s Righteousness Revealed: A Reflection on the Baptism of Christ
Matthew Root 