Scripture Reflection
Here I share the fruits of my personal reflection on the Word of God, whether I’m reading along with the lectionary readings for that week or exploring a particular book of the Bible. Enjoy the posts that appear below; you’ll find them with the most recent first. If you’re looking for something in particular, try typing a topic, book of the Bible, or other keyword into the search field at the bottom of the page. Topics I write about frequently include those listed below:
Israel was between a rock and a hard place. Literally. There they were, camped on the plains of Moab. With solid cliffs behind them and the River Jordan and Jericho ahead, barring their way into Canaan. They were also caught between the “rock” of their sin and the hard job of conquering the land God has promised them. God had ...
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"Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man…I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.” —Saint Augustine As we move into Christmas, I wish for you the peace and joy that only Jesus brings. Whether you are prepared or not; whether you are well or not; whether you can afford gifts or not; whether you can be with ...
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Our house was broken into by thieves. Their target was our copper pipes, but they also nabbed a brass mallard, some sweet little Nikon binoculars, and a blanket of which I was inordinately fond. It could have been worse. They could have taken much more, and trashed the place, but they did not. This comes to mind as I read ...
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My heart is breaking over events in Ukraine. As I continue to meditate on the readings from Ash Wednesday, I’m drawn over and over to Joel 2:12–13— “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning…” Joel is crying to a people crushed by an invader the way Ukraine is ...
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He did it twice. Fed thousands of hungry people with a few loaves, that is. Twice and still the disciples didn’t get it. Comparing the two incidents when Jesus feeds the multitudes in the Gospel of Mark, here’s what I see: Mark 6 (the first time): Jesus calls the disciples away to rest. A crowd meets them and Jesus has ...
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Ever since Advent began, I’ve been praying: Come, Lord Jesus! And come he did, in a whirl of stars and shepherds and “Joy to the World” sung into the night. But Christmas came and went, and although the baby Jesus took his place in the manger in our nativity set, I didn’t feel like Jesus himself was any closer. At ...
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“Behold, I am coming soon.” He says it twice in one chapter (Revelation 22:7,12). Really, Lord? I have to ask. Two thousand years and counting … “soon”? And he repeats it: “Surely I am coming soon” (vs 20). Come, Lord Jesus! my heart cries out. Come! Please! It’s not easy to wait, especially in our need. But Advent plunges us into ...
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Advent is not a simple season. Its four weeks are full of festive preparation, yet it’s a penitential time as well. Along the way, it asks us to hold in balance three separate “comings”: The coming long ago of Jesus to earth, born as a child in Bethlehem His coming at the end of time in joy and glory, preceded ...
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You can’t blame them, really. The men who raced toward the Temple were only following instructions. Just moments before, they were lepers: living on the fringes of society, forced to keep a distance from other people, shouting “unclean, unclean!” to everyone they saw. But now—they are healed! It was all due to Jesus, the rabbi everyone was talking about. When ...
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