Our passage from Matthew concerning sin and forgiveness concludes with the promise of Christ’s presence among us. The wonder of Christ’s presence is that it is not metaphorical, not an “as...

The clear message Jesus gives and Paul reiterates, to love your neighbor as yourself, is apparently not enough. Still we sin against one another, enough that Jesus and Paul must speak...

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is approached by a Pharisee, one who has studied the law. This Pharisee wants to know which commandment is the greatest, or most important. Matthew’s Gospel says...

Paul’s letter to the Romans is a personal correspondence to a specific Christian community. He has not yet met these Roman Christians, but, in Christ, he sees them as neighbors whom...

This penultimate psalm is a paean of joy leading into the great hallelujah of Psalm 150. Try approaching it by returning to Psalm 145 and reading consecutively as each psalm adds...

These verses in the Exodus story almost act as an interlude. They break the narrative of the plagues and shift to instruction around Passover, a practice that will become so central...

This day of remembrance in the Jewish year celebrates not only escape from certain death but strength for a long journey ahead. Nine plagues had already come, each a response to...

Jesus asks a lot from us. Well, more to the point, he asks everything. If we want to follow him, we must deny ourselves. We have to be ready to die....

Pretty much every corner of the world screams to us, “Might makes right!” We are told relentlessly to get whatever we can, that more is better. For centuries, humans have understood...

The world around us teaches us to keep score. We are trained to hope that people get what they deserve, no more and no less. We hear lots of talk about...