As Jesus hung on the cross there would be no last second escape. No Greek goddess would swoop in to rescue him. He suffered alone. And yet even in that suffering he declared his victory on the spiritual battlefield to be your victory.
God can handle grief, rage, and cries for justice. God can handle the victim who cannot yet forgive. God can handle the prayer that comes out jagged and wounded. The good news is that God is holy and merciful enough to handle all our prayers.
But while scholars are right to focus on the bond between Martin and Hans, the evidence of Martin’s own words suggests their relationship may not have been as troubled as some suppose. For Hans Luther was not a cartoon villain but a normal human being attempting to make his way in the world and raise his children to the best of his ability.

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How intentional will we be about utilizing gospel spaces that already inescapably communicate?
We are called to believe in the church even when we don’t believe in the church.
Repentance is not limited to a season.
There is a “re” involved with baptism, but unlike the Anabaptists, it’s not a “re-do,” but a “re-turn" or a “re-member.”
Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the church year, although often sadly overlooked.
We now are the magi: we worship Christ because of who he is, but also because of what he has done for us and what he continues to do in his gift-giving to us.
Epiphany continues the work done at Christmas, bringing light and life to a dying world desperate for hope.
The “Chalking of the Door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home.
The name of Jesus holds us fast.
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.
Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of Junk Drawer Jesus written by Matt Popovits (1517 Publishing, 2024). Available today!