The liturgical three-year cycle of gospel readings centers on the synoptic gospel texts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Meanwhile, the gospel account attributed to the apostle John gets spread across all three years, with particular devotion designated annually during the seven-week season of Easter. Among the varying gospels, John is the most debated—from who really […]
Month: May 2025
On the Risen Jesus
The resurrection stories present quite a mysterious Jesus—familiar in so many ways to the Jesus we hear about before the crucifixion and yet often unrecognized by even the closest followers. In the gospel accounts, the resurrected Jesus is revealed by different means. To start, in the gospel of Mark we are simply told Jesus appeared […]
On the Good Shepherd
One of my favorite “Easter eggs” of Eastertide is Good Shepherd Sunday. Nowadays often the fourth Sunday of Easter, this Christian sabbath day is all about the imagery of our Lord as a shepherd and we humans as the sheep. It is imagery that is rooted in the Old Testament scriptures (most famously, Psalm 23) […]
On Joyful Disbelief
Disbelief gets a hard rap, and sometimes for good measure. Jesus critiques the disbelief of the disciples quite often in the scriptures. However, the resurrection narratives found in the gospels remind us that not all disbelief is the same. After Jesus is buried in the tomb and all hope seems lost, the disciples are overwhelmed […]
On Point of View
A recurring theme on this blog has been that of respecting and honoring different perspectives. In the four gospel narratives, there is perhaps no greater point of deviation than what is told in the post-resurrection accounts. Each book seems to have an entirely different take on what happened after Jesus was buried. In the first […]
Relevant Reformation 