In Luke’s story about Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple ( Luke 2:22-40) they meet two prophets, Simeon and Anna, both well along in years. Simeon and Anna had been patiently waiting and looking for “the redemption of…
When I knew everything
May 8, 1970 was the day when I knew everything. On that day, I received a master of divinity degree after three years of study at an accredited theological seminary. I had received good grades (well, I did get a…
God’s Bet on Humanity and Creation
“Our world is in need of a savior!” A line we might expect to come right out of a sermon in a church. But, it’s not. If we are paying attention, we can hear it being whispered from different corners…
Important origins
Important Origins (Part 2 in the series, How God changes our neighborhood) In the first part of this series I set up this idea that the key theological concept of Christmas, the Incarnation, can be boiled down into a simple…
10 things I wish everyone knew about Jesus
Father James Martin is the editor-at-large for the Jesuit magazine America and author of several books, including Jesus: A Pilgrimage, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, and Between Heaven and Mirth. He is also, in the words of Stephen Colbert,…
How God changes our neighborhood
Have you ever driven through an old neighborhood and thought, “Why haven’t they just bulldozed this whole place? This is a mess! This is an eyesore! The people still living here should get a medal.” How do we respond to a…
When God moved into the neighborhood
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. – John 1:14a MSG Occasionally called the “forgotten Christmas story,” the first chapter of John describes the incarnation of Christ in philosophical prose. In contrast Matthew and Luke give…
For such a time as this
In the Old Testament Book of Esther, we are told a story about how the very existence of a certain group of people was threatened because of the anger of one man towards them. This man made threats to wipe…