A bumper sticker compassionately proclaims, “God bless the whole world. No exceptions.” The sentiment echoes that of Paul in today’s reading. Paul is writing to Gentile Christians who are suffering from...

On the last Thanksgiving I spent with my little sister, Linda, she was all smiles. Her son was home from the Marines; her first grandchild was due that summer. Unfortunately, she...

My son lives on a boat. He says that a storm at sea—the world pitch-black, the rudder a plaything, crashing waves tossing the boat at will—can drive him below deck balled...

Years ago, I made a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s cathedral in Rome. My core intention was to see Michelangelo’s Pieta. Mired in grief at the tragic death of a sibling, I...

Joseph survives the abyss of slavery. In fact, incomprehensibly, he not only survives, he thrives—becoming the ruler over all of Pharaoh’s possessions, even lord over the entire land of Egypt. Joseph’s...

“So the brothers sold Joseph to some traveling merchants who promptly took Joseph to Egypt” (ap). We know what that means. As sure as if Joseph had been taken to the...

Beaten and left for dead in a dried up well; sold into slavery by your own family; tossed about by tempest winds within a stormy sea. Life can be brutal. Sometimes,...

This chapter of Matthew’s Gospel invites us to compare two banquets: Herod’s decadent feast of excess, arrogance, scheming, and murder in a royal palace and, in this passage, Jesus’ impromptu feast...

When this story begins, Jesus has just learned of the murder of his cousin John at the order of Herod. He wants to be alone for a while. But, as always,...

Paul is agonized over Israel’s failure to recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. It breaks his heart that they cannot share his conviction that Jesus is the fulfillment of the ancient...