One striking reoccurrence in the book of Acts is how often the disciples preach not just Christ crucified, but Christ resurrected. In fact, it seems the first disciples had not considered the gospel preached at all, unless their hearers were faced with the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. We would do well to consider why: It …
Easter Saturday was an awful day. Perhaps the worst day for the disciples. Jesus is dead, and they are not yet daring to believe that what Jesus said could possibly come true. All is lost. But of course, we know the rest of the story. Yet today we face a similar travail – though not …
Today is “Good Friday”, in which we celebrate the crucifixion of Jesus. First, it’s worth considering the words of poet W.H. Auden: Just as we are all, potentially, in Adam when he fell, so we were all, potentially, in Jerusalem on that first Good Friday before there was an Easter, a Pentecost, a Christian, or a Church. …
One reason to celebrate Easter comes in a song that we normally sing at Christmas: Charles Wesley’s 1744 hymn, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. The song was written for Advent, but its final line casts its gaze upon the fruit of Easter: by thine all-sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne. It’s a song …
Our world has “succeeded” in its quest for the “death of God”. But what’s persisted is guilt. The sense that we are wrong, or have done wrong. In his essay, “The Strange Persistence of Guilt”,* Wilfred M. McClay argues well that our increasing interconnectedness has multiplied our opportunities to do wrong. Think of Facebook – …
I’m sure the Sadduccees thought they had Jesus cornered, in Matthew 22:23-33. You may remember – the hypothetical woman, married to seven men in this life (widowed each) – which one will she be married to in heaven? I remember showing this to a Mormon on a plane once – it piqued her interest, not …
What shall we do with Easter, after Easter is over? To ask the question is a good sign; it means Easter has had a good effect on us. There are many threats to “keeping Easter”. But one of the most dangerous, and the most pernicious, because it is so subtle, is the power of “trends”. …