No sooner does Jesus praise Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi and dub him "the Rock" than he rebukes him as the devil or Satan. Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Messiah. But his idea of what it meant to be the Christ...
When we think about the Pope, we often think of the Vatican. But the roots of the Papacy are in the Old Testament as well as in the Gospel story of Jesus changing Simon's name to Peter and giving him the keys of the...
Jesus heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman because her faith was so great. He rebuked the disciples because their faith was too little. Matthew's gospel here is teaching us something very important about the nature of the faith that moves mountains....
The gospel story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter sinking has much to teach us about the difference between fear, little faith, and the kind of trust that endures waves and storms, trials and crisis....
How does the Kingdom of God relate to conservative versus liberal values? Should those seeking the pearl of great price look for it in realms that are more traditionalist and old or more progressive and new?...
The parable of the wheat and the weeds is Jesus' response to those who want to cleanse the Christian community of the impure and imperfect. The Church, in this world, is more a hospital for sinners than a club for saints....
The Parable of the Sower and the Seed needs to be viewed from two different perspectives in order to unlock its meaning - from that of the sower and that of the seed. Whether sowing or growing - the point is a plentiful harvest...
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus makes the statement "my yoke is easy, my burden light." For many of us who follow him, this does not seem to square with our experience. This post discusses the reasons for this....
Jesus says to deny self, pick up the cross and follow him. But he also says to love your neighbor as yourself. Is self-love always wrong?...
You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, proclaims Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. This seems to indicate that there is an essential role for passion, excitement and fire in the Christian life....