“Company, villainous company, hath been the spoil of me.” In this comedic line, Falstaff blames the people around him for his vices. While he may be stating this simply to deflect his own personal guilt, there is great truth in…
The Company You Keep
Futility and Fidelity
While Christians often point to the successes of the Gospel message, it’s important to acknowledge that Jesus’ New Testament mission cannot necessarily be called successful in the usual way that society measures success. Despite reaching a large number of people…
Embrace the Cross
One of the most famous images of Our Lord is the one where He carries the cross up to Calvary. We have all seen this very common image of the the entire cross laid on Jesus’ shoulder as He labors…
Why the Pure in Heart Shall See God
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) One of the most important thing to remember about the Beatitudes from which this line is taken, is that they are not external rewards. God does not…
We Are the Crowd
On Palm Sunday, we will gather in Church to listen to the Gospel account of the Passion. In most churches, this reading will be in dialogue form, with different people reading the lines from the Gospel. Normally as part of…
Leaving the Church?
One phenomenon of the Church in the western world is that many people seem to be leaving, a phenomenon that seems to be accelerating. For example, in 2021, Gallup reported that American Church membership dropped below 50% for the first…
Lent: Peace and Plenty are Not the Norm
A passage from JRR Tolkien has always stuck out in my mind since I remember encountering it: “The Hobbits named it the Shire, as the region of the authority of their Thain, and a district of well-ordered business; and there…
Should We Push?
Many Christians, myself included, have people in our lives whom we love, people who are not living a Christian life. This can be one of the most painful aspects of being a Christian: seeing our loved ones live a life…
Be a Valentine
The popular devotion to St. Valentine as a day to celebrate romantic love did not come about until around a 1000 years after his death. Much of his life is lost to us. The popular legend is that St. Valentine…
The Soul and the Brain
I had a student say to me in class recently, “Mr. Grayson, isn’t it strange that the brain is the only organ of the body that named itself.” I thought about what he said for a moment, but then I…