Paul’s letter to the Philippians is considered one of the undisputed letters of the apostle. He writes this letter from prison and is potentially facing execution for the Gospel. And yet even though he appears to be in a lose-lose…
To Live is Christ and Death is Gain: Paul in Philippians
Pope Francis and the Life of Faith
Like many of you, I awoke this morning to the news that Pope Francis has gone to our Heavenly Father. My heart is very heavy at this loss, as I am sure is the case for all who feel the…
God’s Subversive Kingdom
Jesus came and preached the Kingdom of God. I don’t think that we truly appreciate how utterly radical this Kingdom is. The word that is used in the Gospels for Kingdom is “Basileia.” The “Basileia” of God was very different…
Jesus and the Temptation in The Desert
We have now started the Holy Season of Lent. This past Sunday, we heard from the Gospel of Luke about Jesus being tempted by Satan three times in the desert. As will all of the Gospel stories, there is so…
Converting The Modern Roman Empire
Many Christians look at the modern world with despair. The old Christian culture has faded into the background and a new secular one is on the ascendancy. People embrace the wonders of technology along with the horrors of hedonism. And…
Jubilee Year 2025
This is the Year of Jubilee! The Jubilee is an ancient tradition from the times of the Old Testament. It was a special time that occurred once every 50 years. During a Jubilee, all land was returned to its ancestral…
Laws of Man, Laws of God
I am sometimes asked the question, “Is it a sin to break the law?” The general answer is yes, but there is an important exception. Civil laws are the ones enacted by the legitimate authorities of our land. As Christians,…
We Are Saved By Grace Alone
“I can earn my way to heaven.” This statement may not be something that any of us would say out loud. And yet, I bet that if I did a little questioning, I would find this assumption laying underneath my…
Augustine’s War of the Heart
“I was groaning in spirit and shaken by violent anger because I could form no resolve to enter into a covenant with you, though in my bones I knew that this was what I ought to do.” St. Augustine is…
St. Augustine and the Attraction to Sin
“To do what was wrong simply because it was wrong – could I have found pleasure in that?” (St. Augustine, The Confessions II.4) When St. Augustine was a youth, he and his friends got the brilliant idea to steal pears…