Living the Baptismal Life

In my faith tradition early January is when we talk about Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (See Matthew 3:13-17) and our own baptisms. In Romans chapter six Paul writes: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…

Jesus 101

Some have called Acts 10:34-48 “Jesus 101,” because it’s like an introductory course on Jesus. This makes sense because Peter is speaking to a group of uncircumcised Gentiles. They had very little knowledge of Jesus or God so Peter had to keep it simple. Acts 10:34–48: So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I…

We Are Able

In a normal year, this is the time of year we hear about various reenactments of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Churches and other organizations will reenact the events of Holy Week to help make them real for people. When I hear about these reenactments I am always interested to see how they show show…

Death and Resurrection Baptism

Romans 6:3-5 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in…

Relating to the Virgin Mary

Luke 1:30–33: “And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.…

One Blind Man, Three Forms of Blindness

John 9 tells the story of the time when Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth. In this story we encounter three forms of blindness: physcial blindness, spiritual blindness and sacramental blindness. The physical blindness in this story is quite profound; the man had been blind from birth. To heal him, Jesus…