2 Corinthians 5

Paul has been wounded by the church, but he is driven to keep engaging.

Learning to trust in God requires an act of will.

I am thankful that this Ash Wednesday comes with the reminder of grace along with death.

What would Jesus say about it?

Paul says something really crazy here.

“One second-century pagan critic of Christianity was willing to tolerate everything else about Christians if they would only worship the gods.”

People do not float through life in the bubble that is their skin. We are grounded, dependent beings that live through the lives and deaths of others.

As we contemplate mortality and finitude, I wonder if we could treasure washing the dishes.

I returned to seminary a few years back to hear a professor teach John’s gospel as a remake of the Genesis narrative. The parallel between Genesis 1 and John 1 is obvious, but if you press forward, the connections run throughout.

Some questions won't go away. The creed says Jesus was crucified "for us," but what do those two little words mean?

Isaiah gives voice to God. God is amazed at our epistemic closure.

The blind kitten I adopted seemed to walk by faith instead of sight—the perfect companion to take to divinity school.

I don’t want to leave my body or its loves. I wouldn’t rather be at home with the Lord; I want to be right here.

"A man had two sons . . .” was a common way to begin a parable, especially one comparing good and bad sons. Matthew uses it to contrast one son, who promises to work in the vineyard but never shows up, with another, who at first adamantly refuses to go to the vineyard but later repents and goes (21:28-32). Which one did the will of his father, asks Jesus? Not the one who talked a good game, but the one who actually followed through with obedient actions.