1. If Jesus did not rise, then religion is just religion — a mere anthropological phenomenon.
  2. The resurrection of Jesus encompasses the total and comprehensive glorification of a human being, not merely his restoration.
  3. Jesus is the only answer to the nagging question. He is the only way to make sense of this unsettling story in Exodus 4.
  4. If it’s all a fiction spun by disappointed disciples, if it’s a mere symbol for the idea of an inner awakening, if it’s not a fact that Christ has been raised, then our grief and loss have no end, and we have no hope.
  5. This is the message of Lent. We are not called to sacrifice for Jesus in order to earn our salvation. Rather, we are called to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
  6. I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.
  7. In Memory of My Friend, James Arne Nestingen
  8. It makes perfect sense that the day honoring Jesus' birth would be observed in a decidedly less than refined manner.
  9. To trust in the Lord, the Messiah, the Deliverer, is our salvation and our only hope. Yet he does not trust us to have this “trust” on our own or of our own will.
  10. A.I. can’t make the proclamatory move that delivers God’s word in a way that is specifically for me.
  11. Take courage, you who were lost: Jesus comes to seek and save that which is lost. Ye sick, return to health: Christ comes to heal the contrite of heart with the balm of his mercy. Rejoice, all you who desire great things: the Son of God comes down to you that he may make you the co-heirs of his kingdom.
  12. Rejoice with Mary as she would rejoice with you. Be blessed, like her, with humility from God, so that you may serve joyfully and willingly wherever and in whatever role God has placed you.