Messiah News

Real love creates a climate where forgiveness and understanding are readily given and received. In all his parables on forgiveness and reconciliation, Jesus calls anyone who would be his disciples to be committed to the work of reconciliation, to be always ready and willing to make the first move toward forgiveness, to be actively engaged in the wo...

"Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon…" Silence, refusal to act, exile, condemnation - all the responses you'd expect, right? What are we dealing with here in Matthew 15 this Sunday? She wants a better life for her 11 year old than the violence of gang warfare. So mother and son abandon their life in Columbia an...

This Sunday's gospel is part of the "farewell discourse," where Jesus is saying goodbye to his disciples and assuring them that he'll continue to be with them. Poet Nayyirah Waheed, in her collection salt has a wonderful short poem on difficult goodbyes that might speak to the situation and mood in our gospel reading for the 6th Sunday of Easter. i...

On the second Sunday of Easter we always turn to the one who is often called "Doubting Thomas." He is the one who misses out on the first meeting with Jesus behind the locked doors that keep them safe from the world. The others are thrilled with having seen the risen Lord and Thomas expresses his need to see for himself. He wants his own experience...

Palm/Passion Sunday First it is a parade, then it is a perp walk. One minute the crowd shouts, "Hosanna!"  Not too much later, the tide is turned and people are shouting, "Crucify him!" Today, we encounter the paradox that defines our faith: Jesus Christ is glorified king and humiliated servant. We too are full of paradox: like Peter, we ferve...