Christ is risen! A few years ago a book came out titled "The Hard Sayings of Jesus." The book attempted to tackle some of the more difficult passages attributed to Christ in His earthly ministry. You know, sayings like "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father...
Christ is risen! "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself anymore..." So sang Eric Carmen in 1975. The song was loosely based on the second movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. It tells the story of a young man all alone as he...
Christ is risen! Today, what is the regular rhythm of your life? Looking at your daily routine, what does it teach you about your "habit" of prayer and devotion? The questions are not meant to bring shame or confrontation, but revelation. St. Basil, called by the Church the "Minstrel of...
Christ is risen! There was a popular song in the 1970's called "Me and Jesus." It became popular during the "Jesus People" movement in the United States during this decade. This movement was something of a small awakening of young people to faith in Christ. The lyrics testify of a central...
Christ is risen! "It's just easier to stay put." Have you ever known someone (or maybe you have been here) who is afraid of getting better? Let me say it another way. Some folks aren't happy unless they are unhappy. The truth is sometimes we are more afraid of the unknown...
Christ is risen! The movie "The Matrix" has the hero Neo sitting in a chair in front of Morpheus, and Morpheus offers Neo a choice - the red pill or the blue pill. The red pill reveals the truth about Neo's real life and the blue pill allows him to...
Christ is risen! An old preacher friend of mine once said "Jesus ain't all you need until He's all you want!" Lousy grammar, but good theology. Just listen to our Lord in today's Gospel reading: "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he...
Christ is risen! Abundant life! What does that look like? Life that goes beyond mere existence or survival and enters into a life that is fulfilling, meaningful, and purposeful. Abundant life means that death, every manifestation of death, is overwhelmed by life that makes death irrelevant and impotent. Abundant life...
Christ is risen! Have you ever wished your life had a "do over" button? Most of our lives have moments in them we would love to change if only we could. And the reason is that my mistakes set up a pattern of repercussions and reactions that I would really...
Christ is risen! One of the greatest discoveries of medical science was when doctors found they could build immunity to a disease by giving the patient just a small dose of the disease itself. A little bit of something can make you immune to the full blown sickness. Well, that also...
