I started 2021 with a fair bit of trepidation. It was hard to know what to expect from the year since 2020 had disrupted so much we had so long taken for granted as a society. Steeling myself for what was shaping up to be another difficult year, my theme entering 2021 was “Into the … Continue reading A Year in the Wilderness: A Personal Reflection on 2021
A few weeks ago, some graffiti started appearing in my part of the city that reads, "The art you see is the signs of the times." It reminded me of a great art exhibit I once saw of work from the 1910s, and how jarring and apocalyptic the images became during those years, not only … Continue reading Signs of the Times: LOOK
For the past couple of weeks I've been writing about the nature of sacrifice in the Bible, and how it relates to different ideas of sin and salvation. So far we've seen that the picture is a lot more complicated than the traditional Western Christian ideas of substitutionary atonement would suggest. The Scriptures of both … Continue reading Sacrifice in Romans 3.21-26
The four Gospels all tell the story of Jesus in different ways: for Matthew Jesus is primarily a teacher, extending and enriching the Law; for Mark he is an apocalyptic figure, ushering in a new age (just don't tell anyone about it); for Luke he is a prophet with deep concern for the marginalized; and … Continue reading Sight to the Blind: A Reflection on Mark 10.46-52
I once worked with a woman who was, let's say, 'challenging' to be around. She was brusque and impatient, and never had a kind word to say about anyone. Every day at lunch, she told us stories of an estranged relative, an unreasonable neighbour, or a friend with whom she was on the outs. The … Continue reading On Normalizing Sin (Without Minimizing it)
