This is a heartwarming passage for a city girl! Heaven is multicultural and densely populated. The palm branches—a symbol of victory and thanksgiving—remind us of the crowds who sang praises as...

Which comes first for a Christian disciple: believing or belonging? I believe that belonging is the starting point. Jesus calls his disciples to follow him long before he asks them about...

I have spent eight years of my life in Russia, so I have a strong reaction to the phrase “it was winter” in this passage. I immediately begin to feel cold!...

“Please come to us without delay.” I wonder if you have ever received a message like that. For me, it brings back memories of being called to the hospital because a...

On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, we stopped off en route from Jerusalem to Jericho at the place known as the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Though probably not...

As a city girl, I sometimes get frustrated by the rural imagery that is used in our worship. I agree that green pastures and still waters can be good for the...

The book of Revelation delivers messages of judgment, but the passage that we read today offers a vision of peace, not only among humans but for the entire creation. This peaceful...

In Psalm 30, the psalmist weaves from illness to healing, from divine absence to presence, from individual to community and back to individual. This personal testimony of deliverance and healing leads...

At the beginning of today’s reading, Saul is breathing threats and murder. He is hunting followers of Christ to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. (Saul’s plan sounds eerily similar to...

After Jesus directs Simon Peter to care for his lambs and sheep, Jesus concludes his conversation with some straight talk about the likely outcome. Simon Peter might die as a result...