May 11, 2023 | Easter, Faith
The final scriptural passage of our biblical resurrection romp, and I am sad to close this portion of our reflections. But worry not, dear reader, as we have plenty enough to enjoy together before Pentecost Day in these daily visits! And we close in the most...
May 10, 2023 | Easter, Faith
The close of John 21 is not the ending of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, although today’s texts require some ingenuity to see clearly. Just as the Pauline corpus of scripture contains more than Paul’s actual letters (Luke-Acts, and Hebrews which was subsumed under...
May 9, 2023 | Easter, Faith
Here we meet the emotional anchor of John 21, and indeed one of the most intensive vocational encounters in the entire bible. Read John 21:15-19 to appreciate the complex narrative John so ambitiously and adeptly weaves together for his church and for us. We stay by...
May 8, 2023 | Easter, Faith
The Great Fifty Days, colluding with our present distancing societal protocols, provides us with an unparalleled invitation to luxuriate in the resurrection accounts, and indeed in Jesus’ resurrection itself! Inhabit, stretch our scriptural legs a bit, poke and prod...
May 7, 2023 | Easter, Faith
In 1899 Missouri congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver addressed a Philadelphia Men’s Club, and stated the following in his remarks: “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies...
May 7, 2023 | Easter, Faith
<EDITORIAL NOTE: This reflection featuring a marked divine preference for the right side of the boat, inferring a more abundant draught of fish over against the left side, demonstrates an unabashed dextral bias. Your Eastertide Reflection Editorial Committee,...
May 6, 2023 | Easter, Faith
Okee dokee smokee, here’s where John veers off the resurrection reservation bigtime! Read John 20:19-23. Remember for Luke the Resurrection of Jesus is paired with His ascension into heaven during one very long day?! Well here, in John, the Resurrection is paired...
May 5, 2023 | Easter, Faith
We continue our Johnannine resurrection journey with the candlelight flickering upon the corner table barely large enough for two in close quarters. This is the anti-social distance resurrection story, and if my interpretation shocks you, well…..good. While I have...
May 4, 2023 | Easter, Faith
For the final time we return to the Empty Tomb, this time in John 20:1-10. Note the distinctive Johnannine features. Mary Magdalene visits alone here, not to complete the burial details (as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus have already accomplished) but just to...