One of the consistent themes that emerged this summer in our series on Romans was the continuity in the ancient world between the language of politics and the language of religion. Both were ultimately about power and allegiance, making it difficult to discern how much the New Testament was intentionally critiquing Imperial propaganda, and how … Continue reading Let the People Tremble: A Reflection on Psalm 99
[Happy Thanksgiving! While I hope to get back to regular new Sunday posts soon, here is an Integral study on today's Gospel Reading, taken from Matthew's Gospel.] According to Luke's telling, the Parable of the Banquet is a beautiful story of God’s willingness to do anything to ensure the Kingdom is as full as … Continue reading The Parable of the Great Banquet in Matthew (Repost)
[Today's reading is the wonderful Parable of the Tenants, which to my mind offers us Jesus' clearest picture of how he understood his ministry. Since I'm still transitioning between series, I thought I'd share these words from 2023 about it. (I've also since done an Integral Reading on it as part of my series on … Continue reading The Cross from Jesus’ Perspective: A Reflection on Matthew 21.33-46 (REPOST)
One of the books I reference most often here is Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It tells the story of a Nigerian girl whose abusive father uses their Christian faith as a weapon to control her. This is an all-too-common theme in literature — not because literature has it out for Christianity or faith … Continue reading Wisdom IN Literature: The Novice of Holloway Hall and The Winter Witch on Religious Abuse
There are few passages more relevant to Christian life than the so-called Hymn of Humility in Philippians 2. So imagine my surprise when I discovered this week that, while I have cited it no fewer than seventeen times in the almost nine years of this blog, I’ve never dedicated a post to the passage in … Continue reading The Joy of Humility: A Reflection on Philippians 2.1-13
