Christians find it hard to read today’s text without thinking of Jesus’ final week on this earth. The disturbing picture of affliction, anguish, and distress painted here so vividly by the...

The apostle Paul writes these words to the church in Philippi from a Roman prison. His crime? He follows Jesus of Nazareth. His Christian faith has led to hostility, opposition, and...

Today’s passage is one of four poems found in the second part of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40–55) that deal with the mysterious figure of the suffering servant. In these...

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Down through the centuries God’s children have read, sung, and actively embodied these words...

John 11 juxtaposes Lazarus’s death, and by implication, the death of anyone, with belief in Jesus as Word, Light, and Resurrection. Today’s scripture enables those who experienced Lazarus’s death and we...

What do dry bones need to live? In Ezekiel’s world, dry bones need God’s power to come together by knitting bone to bone with sinews, flesh, and skin. Elsewhere, Ezekiel speaks...

When we want to identify something, we look at it closely. When we see someone we think we know in a crowded place, we concentrate on seeing a distinctive face or...

The raising of Lazarus lies at the heart of John’s Gospel. Resurrection is the greatest of the seven signs. Jesus speaks enigmatically about Lazarus’ illness: “This illness does not lead to...

Psalm 130 was one of Martin Luther’s favorite psalms and his paraphrase of it for the Lutheran hymn of 1524: “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir” is still part of...

In Romans, Paul uses the metaphor of “flesh” to contrast the way the world is with the way it should be for those in Christ Jesus. Throughout the letter, Paul tackles...