The Old Testament was the lens through which the early church saw the life of Jesus. Holding the Old and New Testaments together offers us a kind of “binocular” vision instead of the lack of depth per...
Context of the Passage Our text is part of the (usually brief) thanksgiving section of the epistle, which follows the greeting. In Paul's writing, such thanksgivings are typically short. In Ephes...
These star, comet, planet, supernova, special miraculous light — whatever — are not doing the stuff of their own accord. God is doing this. And the reason he is doing it is to get pagans to their Savi...
Acts 10:34-43, Isaiah 42:1-9, Matthew 3:13-17, Psalm 32:, Matthew 12:16-21
One of the beauties of the lectionary is that it brings together the Old and New Testament in the way the first Christians saw them. It gives us “binocular” vision instead of the lack of depth percept...
Ephesians 1:3-14, Jeremiah 31:7-14, John 1:(1-9), 10-18, Psalm 147:12-20
Context of the Passage Our text is part of the (usually brief) thanksgiving section of the epistle, which follows the greeting. In Paul's writing, such thanksgivings are typically short. In Ephes...
Summary The gospel has been spreading in Acts and the gospel is meeting resistance, with apostles being imprisoned. By the Holy Spirit, they are released from jail. The Spirit then instructs them to ...
Context This week’s reading from Acts recounts the call to Paul on his second missionary journey to go to Macedonia and his encounter with Lydia in Philippi. Textual Context The structure of the B...
Context The body of the letter continues in chapter 3. If it were not for chapters 4-6, we could even believe that Paul was about to close this letter after we read what appears to be a benediction i...
Context The body of the letter continues in chapter 3. If it were not for chapters 4-6, we could even believe that Paul was about to close this letter after we read what appears to be a benediction i...
The mystery was not something unknowable; it was previously hidden but now revealed—that in Christ, all nations are brought into the one people of God.
Paul’s insight that Gentiles are co-heirs, co-members, and co-participants in the gospel is not a mere sociological adjustment—it is a radical theological revelation.
Confusion about Epiphany The celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord can be at once both wholly familiar or somewhat confusing, especially for those who grew up in less liturgical traditions. What ca...
Psalm 98, for both Israel and the Church, is an intriguing statement about God’s work in Israel and the world, especially in regard to how they are related. Ancient Lens What's the historical c...
Revelation 21:10, 22:1-5, Acts 16:9-15, John 14:23-29, Psalm 67:
Context This week’s reading from Acts recounts the call to Paul on his second missionary journey to go to Macedonia and his encounter with Lydia in Philippi. Textual Context The structure of the B...
Ancient Lens What's the historical context? Dissolving the Divisions Generally speaking, the Psalms divide the people of the earth into two groups: “Israel” and “the nations.” Psalm 98 surpr...