On Maundy Thursday, Christ explicitly gave his disciples the new command from which the day takes its name, for the Latin words novum mandatum are the Vulgate’s translation of “new command.”
Spy Wednesday asks us to look inward. It's the day the liturgical calendar acknowledges what we already know: we are not the best version of ourselves.
“Save us!” or “Deliver us!” That’s what “Hosanna” means. And that is exactly what Jesus did in the ER that dark Thanksgiving Day and every day for me.

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When Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan, He was not simply encouraging us to be good citizens. He was continuing a conversation which had begun with a serious question about salvation.
Sometimes, the bible bores me. Sometimes, I take scripture, grace, and Jesus lightly.
Original sin produces violent fruit.
Our righteousness and the righteousness of our neighbor have nothing to do with what we eat or do not eat.
The following is an excerpt from “Crucifying Religion” written by Donavon Riley (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Our past, present, and future receive healing from Jesus’ wounds.
It was during one of these garbage burns, however, that I was bathed in a fresh remembrance of grace.
Baptism demolishes all boasting, for it is passively received and all that is received is pure gift. No one can, therefore, boast a better salvation than another.
Perhaps best known for his “wager,” Pascal is often associated with this curious argument for the existence of God and eternal blessedness.
Naturally each individual forgets the beam in his own eye and perceives only the mote in his neighbor’s. One will not bear with the faults of the other; each requires perfection of his fellow.
When we brag about what Jesus does for us, we win the battle.
Shame is shameful. That may seem obvious but ponder this observation from the authors of Scenes of Shame: “Shame, indeed, covers shame itself—it is shameful to express shame.”