Once again, as November winds down, the Western Christian liturgical year is also winding down. In fact, the liturgical ‘new year’ is this coming Sunday. As I was planning my Advent series for this year, I realized that I hadn’t yet reflected on the traditional Advent themes, represented in the candles of the Advent wreath: … Continue reading Coming Soon: A Series for Advent 2023
Last week, in reflecting on the Parable of the Talents, we saw how it’s important not to take the master figure’s callous, ‘The rich get richer,’ attitude as Jesus’ stance on economics, as though he’s advocating a ‘trickle down’ economy or a ‘prosperity gospel’, in which wealth is a sign of God’s favour and poverty … Continue reading Generosity in God’s Kingdom: A Reflection on Matthew 25:31-46
As long-time readers of the blog will know, I’m a big reader. Literature is my main hobby and source of entertainment. Last year I started a bookish blog, which this Summer I transitioned almost entirely over to a dedicated Instagram account. In that capacity, I was recently given the opportunity to read an Advanced Review … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Literary Bible Retellings
I remember as a kid asking lots of big questions about the world’s injustices. Invariably, they’d be met with a shrug and a resigned “That’s just the way the world works.” True as that reply may have been, it’s also true that ‘the way the world works’ is killing us. And yet, far too many … Continue reading Breaking the Vicious Circle: A Reflection on Matthew 25.14-30
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the most important ways Christians have understood the atonement — what it was God was doing in Jesus of Nazareth ‘for us and for our salvation’ — throughout history. Now it’s time to put some of the pieces together and offer some concluding thoughts. The atonement is … Continue reading Atonement through the Ages: Final Thoughts
Matthew Root 