1. What is undoubtedly true, however, is that St. Peter wasn’t left outside. He wasn’t left weeping. He was restored, as am I, as are you.
  2. Past, present, and future are tied together in Christ.
  3. Zephaniah has given us something more visceral to help us understand the love of God: the sound of salvation.
  4. Forty days after giving birth, Mary, along with her husband Joseph, presented their firstborn Son at the temple and "bought" him back with a sacrifice of two small birds. This is known as the "Presentation of Our Lord."
  5. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  6. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  7. 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.
  8. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  9. The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
  10. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  11. Toy Story is indeed a Christmas story.
  12. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give