Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year C, RCL)

The psalms of ascent press hard against the norms of our bootstrap culture.

We gave our readers a one-word writing prompt: “Eye.”

Cavan Concannon believes that the apostle’s writings belong in the latrine.

They put us in touch with essential things that we know to be dear or wrong.

Mary has learned that God spares nothing in loving us.

Were Mary and Martha at the Last Supper? It’s possible.

It’s Easter. Step into the future.

Martin Luther went looking for God—and found Christ on the cross.

These three stances toward God are the beginning of faith.

Paul is not ashamed of most parts of his background.

Judas is right: what Mary does makes no sense.

Wright tells a great story. Would the apostle recognize it?

Unabated cultural frivolity rules our churches, too.

The Apostle Paul shows the struggle to transcend the architecture of ego.

Several years ago I taught a Sunday School class on the Saint John's Bible, a beautiful hand-calligraphed and illustrated version of the Bible that took several years and a whole team of artists to create. I showed the class a video about how the project came together, and the class was spellbound, as I knew they'd be. The illuminations make you want to lean into the scripture. The Saint John's Bible fosters awe and wonder toward the God who gives us not only the sacred story but also the artists who make it come alive.

Near the end of the video, the narrator shares the cost of this tremendous project.

After the anointing at Bethany, Judas asks why the fragrance wasn't sold and the money given to charity. A more apt question might be why Mary didn't use it on her brother Lazarus, dead just a few days before.

I have given my father many presents. The small bottle of fragrant bath essence I gave him last Christmas may be the most important one.