Posts tagged “Bible History”
Easter is about/for real places
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is believed by most scholars to mark the actual tomb of Jesus. This church was built…
Easter is about/for real people
Easter is more than a story. It’s history. Because history is about real people, places, and things, which are exactly what we find in…
Show of force
When tensions rise among nations and their differences are not settled, what can often happen is they resort to a show of force. It…
Tilting the covenant
For 40-plus years God used ten core laws, peculiar ceremonies, stern warnings, and divine retribution to drag his children through the wilderness and into…
Unlikely Lenten preachers: Roman soldiers
Foreign soldiers performing garrison duty in a conquered territory that hated them knew to be on their guard at all times. They also quickly…
Unlikely Lenten preachers: Pontius Pilate
The Romans were justifiably proud of their legal system, elements of which form the backbone of Western law today. It didn’t take the Roman…
Unlikely Lenten preachers: The Sanhedrin
Trial by a jury of your peers is one of the features of the American justice system of which we are most proud. In…
Unlikely Lenten preachers: Caiaphas
It’s a basic principle of any legal justice system that people should not be convicted or suffer penalties for the offenses of others. And…
The stakes are higher now
Jesus told his disciples once that those to whom much had been given, from them much would be expected and even demanded. God’s self-revelation…
Why do I exist?
On his second missionary journey, St. Paul traveled to the center of the ancient city of Athens to start a conversation with the Greeks…
Seek him; see him
Imagine you’re a shepherd in first-century Israel, smelling of campfire and sweat, rough around the edges. Imagine the hem of the night sky being…
Magnificat: They will call me blessed
A magnifying glass makes things look really big, and a magnificent event is huge fun. The title of the virgin Mary’s poetic outburst of…