There is both continuity and difference between the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. John's bapism is a "baptism of repentance." But the Messiah, "will baptize...with the…
After what has been a long year, many of us are ready for a fresh start or at least wondering if it will be a new year of hope. Christ's…
When Joseph and Mary present Jesus to the Lord in Jerusalem, they dedicate this child's life to God signifying that the child Jesus will be "holy to the Lord" (Luke…
Elizabeth's impossible situation and wonder at what the Lord has done for her sets us up for Mary's equally incredulous story. The angel responds to Mary's wonderment with those stirring…
Last Sunday we heard a very different John the Baptist than the one that John's gospel introduces us to this week. In fact, the John of John's Gospel is never…
Mark's Gospel thus begins with the announcement that God's advent is about to occur. John the Baptist is the advance man in the operation, offering a baptism of repentance, washing…
If the church said, "Christ is ruler of the church (and only, the church)," then we could say that, though his kingdom is small, it is growing. But the church…
If the church said, "Christ is ruler of the church (and only, the church)," then we could say that, though his kingdom is small, it is growing. But the church…
We mainline Christians are apt to be discomforted by Matthew's apocalyptic predictions. There's no doubt that Matthew (in a way unlike Mark, Luke, or John) asserts that divine judgment is…