John 14

John 14:15–21

Acts 7:55–60; Psalm 31:1–5, 15–16; 1 Peter 2:2–10; John 14:1–14

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are connected as older and younger siblings. It's an asymmetrical relationship.

The traveler eats whatever food is placed before her; she aims to learn as much of the language as possible. A tourist sacrifices less.

It’s common to confuse ministry leaders with Jesus. We can see ourselves in Judas’s question to Jesus, “How is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” Why do we have to carry the message?

It’s common to confuse ministry leaders with Jesus. We can see ourselves in Judas’s question to Jesus, “How is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” Why do we have to carry the message?

"Buddhism has not just provided the flashlight with which I have discovered what was in the Christian basement. It has also added to that basement."

Here in rural Georgia, it's hard to miss a monk in saffron robes walking through Wal-Mart. But we don't know what to think about him, so we don't.

One of my favorite confessions of sin is from a short poem called "Thread," by Dan Chiasson. "I am frayed where it would be highly useful," he writes, "to make a point."

Many people, perhaps most, are at least vaguely aware of one of the consequences of human sin.

Compared to other attributes we assign to God, cherishing has received little attention. It’s easily absorbed into the broader category of love. Yet cherishing is a specific kind of love—one the inspires deep commitment.

Who is this leader who issues this warning? Do we even begin to believe that he's the Christ?

For my money, John’s is the only Gospel in which Jesus seems really lonely.

For my money, John’s is the only Gospel in which Jesus seems really lonely.

Jesus’ promise that he and God will come make a home with us sounds like good news to me.

Our so-called secular age purports to have disenchanted us of our pre-modern superstitions. Many of us find God’s stark absence from our daily affairs to be our most prominent experience of the divine.

Our brains are wired to allow us to read each other's minds, to feel each other's person.

Our brains are wired to allow us to read each other's minds, to feel each other's person.

I love interfaith gatherings, but I would never invite Stephen.