Mark recorded the story of Jesus in the desert first. He tells us Jesus spent 40 days there and was tempted by the devil. Matthew and Luke add that Jesus actually fasted all that time, at which point he was mighty hungry.
We’re hit with a double celebration today: Valentine’s Day and World Marriage Day. The first observance honors romantic love and the second the even more romantic idea of lifelong fidelity.
I think we know how Peter feels. After a long and fruitless night he's tired and disappointed. He and his men have worked hard until dawn to catch fish, only to come home empty-handed. We've all invested time, energy, and resources into things that just didn't pan out: a special project at work perhaps, or something as dear and vital as a relationship.
The wisdom of folk songs is that they gently remind us of things we already know. Graham Nash’s 1970 classic, “Teach Your Children,” recalls that children can’t possibly appreciate the hell their parents lived through and how hard-won are the values they now hold.
God is the Lord of Today, the God of Present Tense. "I AM" is the name God uses in the ancient stories of Israel. The Eternal One exists in an everlasting state of Now, which is why God expects things of us today more than any other day. As for most of us, trapped in the limited perspective of linear moments, we often get stuck in the past.
What’s in a name? Identity and even destiny—in just about any culture but ours. Certainly in biblical times naming held the authority of creation in it: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” From this understanding we get Adam, whose name means created from earth, and Eve, mother of all the living.
Who are the future leaders in your community? Invite those younger than 20 to stand in your assembly. These children and teenagers are the hope of the future. They may not seem like leaders at the moment, with roving eyes, poor posture, questionable taste in fashion, and a universal reluctance to be scrutinized by grown-ups.
In this country we gave up celebrating kings right around the time of the Boston Tea Party. Our national story was framed against the notion that kings are better than anybody else.
"Beloved, we are God's children now." That is such a beautiful idea I can't help repeating it from John's letter. To be a child is to inherit the attributes of the parent.
What makes Christians different from other holiday shoppers during the month of December? That’s not a trick question. What makes believers different from party planners, pageant organizers, or mere Santa fans?