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And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. Mark 14:51-52 I love this small, seemingly insignificant verse. The reason I love it is because of the way it challenges our imagination. It is a verse thatContinue reading “The Gospel of Mark: Power, Faith, and Following Jesus on the Way”

In one of the commentaries on The Book of Acts that I read in the past, I remember it saying that Acts is the single most “diverse” book in the New Testament canon in terms of the “act” of translating and parsing through all of the original manuscripts and turning it into the book thatContinue reading “The Acts of the Apostles: The Great Liberating Movement”

This small letter just might be one of the more quotable sections of scripture one will find. It is incredibly aware of Christ, and therefore despite the ways in which the letter itself remains somewhat ambiguous in context and concern, the words themselves easily translate and contextualize across these boundaries. This is a Gentile communityContinue reading “Colossians: Clothing Ourselves with Christ as Our Identity, Love as our Light, and Light as our Reality”

Reading through Luke, I was immediately struck by the presence of this massive cliff hanger that comes at the very end (spoiler alert). After brilliantly establishing the tension for the story (of what is hidden being revealed amidst the Israel and Gentile conflict, the Heavenly and Earthly Powers in contest, the precarious work of forgivenessContinue reading “Gospel of Luke: Liberation, Forgiveness and the Promise of A Kingdom Building Work”

Reading and studying Paul’s letters to the Corinthians is always an interesting exercise. In some ways, with it’s grand passage on love (Chapter 13) and its incorporation into the liturgy of our Communion (Chapter 11), it might be the most often referenced book in the life of the Church (and outside of the Church forContinue reading “1st and 2nd Corinthians: Division, Unity and the Power of Christian Community”

Coming to Romans, Paul’s enormous and paramount theological exposition, one can’t help but notice it’s level of sophistication and development. Especially for those who have spent time with Paul, set in the light of his body of work, Romans has the look and feel of someone looking back on their life and bringing together thisContinue reading “Romans: A Dividing Darkness and A Unifying Light- God For the World”

Positioned between 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and the grand letter to Hebrews in the Christian Canon are a set of 4 contested letters from Paul- 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and Philemon. All 4 letters bear similarities in focus, exhortation and teaching, with this connective tissue binding them together as a call to witness (ofContinue reading “1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus and Philemon: The Gospel, Godliness and Right Living”

Paul and Silas in Thessalonica Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to riseContinue reading “Thessalonians: Being Formed By the Waiting, Understanding Apocalyptic Language, and the Liberating Work of the Spirit”

About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hearContinue reading “Ephesians: The Mystery, The Powers and the Great Spiritual Battle”

Prevalent in the whole of the New Testament writings is the presence of Gnostic teaching. Gnostic teaching simply has to do with the way in which we receive, project, and participate in spiritual “knowledge”. One of the key markers of Gnosticism, particularly in relationship to Christianity, is the idea of division. The self is dividedContinue reading “Galatians: A House Divided For Itself and a Unified Christ For the World”