When a bad mood spreads we often think nothing good can come of it, and usually we’re right. But sometimes important—if uncomfortable—growth can only come from something as foul as a...

I hate forks in the road. I don’t care if it is a highway interchange or an intersection out in the country. Even if I know exactly where I am going,...

During my life I have usually employed the Psalms as personal devotional prayers. But the Psalms primarily function as the songbook of God’s people. When the community gathers, the members share...

The Psalms are a big deal. They’re strewn throughout the New Testament. Jesus quotes Psalm 22 from the cross. Monks chant them in chapels. You can’t overstate their importance in Judeo-Christian...

I remember moving across the country during a difficult time in my life. As I packed up the kitchen, I—how to say it—accidentally broke a plate or two. (wink, nudge.) It...

Often we do not control the most important matters in life. Consider Elisha. The great Elijah calls him to follow, and he does. Elisha leaves his home and serves Elijah. And...

To fully grasp this story’s meaning, we must understand the place of the pig in the author’s time and culture. Even the most cursory look at Jewish dietary law brings to...

I’ve heard an old saying that rings true: “Sometimes you prefer the devil you know to the devil you don’t.” When I was a young seminarian, I counseled with a woman...

In this portion of Galatians, Paul layers his discussion of “the law”—the guidelines laid out for observant Jewish practice in the Hebrew Bible—with his understanding of traditional Greek education. The word...

The central issue of the early Christian church centered on identity. Before Christianity emerged as distinct from Judaism, the question of observation of Jewish law was largely null. Jesus and his...