Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.
God chooses to clothe himself in promises and hides himself in his word.
When you remember your baptism, you're not recalling a ritual. You're standing under a current of divine action that has not ceased to flow since the moment those baptismal waters hit your skin.
The church does not await a verdict; she proclaims one.
If you struggle with doubt, take heart: You are not alone.
It's one thing to hope for a new reality; it's quite another to stand before it, no matter how wonderful.
If Jesus rose from the dead, then his claims about himself and his promises to humanity warrant serious attention and response.
Albrech Dürer is said to have brought the Renaissance north of the Alps and perfected the mass production and distribution of images.
Kleinig continually directs the reader's attention to Christ and his gifts.
We are called to believe in the church even when we don’t believe in the church.
Is there a significant difference between changing your mind and doing penance? Absolutely.
You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.