This is Great Saturday of Orthodox Pascha (Easter) weekend. Thousands gather every year outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, awaiting Holy Fire from the empty tomb. Today Ellen and I were hosted by a friend for lunch next to Manger Square in Bethlehem when the report came that the flame had appeared…
Hope in a polarized world
How easily I get entangled in the divisions of church and society! Do you also get discouraged or angry? I set out to find help and hope in the Bible, in ancient Judaism, in Jesus, in the early church, and in the witness of Christians in our time. This book (released April 11) logs what…
A house of prayer for all nations
This Holy Week my wife Ellen and I joined 15,000 jubilant Christians for a Palm Sunday procession from Bethphage on the Mount of Olives to Old City Jerusalem. On this photo the multitude is descending the Mount of Olives into Kidron Valley. At top center is the golden Dome of the Rock where the temple…
The gospel translates!
Thank God that the gospel translates! I’m reminded of that on a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Below the church is a network of ancient caves that early Christians modified with walls and archways to serve as workspace and chapels. Pilgrims flock to the cave where, by ancient tradition, Christ was…
The American altar of human sacrifice
By a cliff-hanger vote—217 to 213—the United States House of Representatives on July 29 passed a ban on private ownership of assault weapons. The legislation would make it illegal to sell, manufacture, transfer, possess, or import assault weapons in the United States. God in heaven, why does any private citizen want or need such weapons…
Hail and fire mixed with blood
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were hurled upon the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up (Revelation 8:7). Three months ago, while visiting our…
Will the meek inherit Afghanistan?
Withdrawal of American and allied forces from Afghanistan is something Jesus saw coming. No, he did not specifically predict anything that is happening in the twenty-first century. But in his mountaintop manifesto by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus set out a paradigm of hope for the powerless in the face of empire: the meek will inherit the…
Stomp on your enemies
G7 leaders meet in Europe to lay strategy for keeping their global reach strong! China drives to overtake a receding American empire! Russia presses to recover its clout! Dominance–-economic, political and military–-is the name of this game, and always has been for empires. “Make America great again” in recent years was not a call for…
Woe to the self-serving shepherds!
The performance of the president of the United States and his enablers brings to mind what God said to the prophet Ezekiel about certain kings of ancient Israel: “Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: . . . Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep?…
Baby Jesus in the vaccine queue
Arrival of COVID-19 vaccines is wonderful news, but there is a sober side to the story: wealthy or influential individuals and nations will receive the life-giving protection first. CNN reports (December 9) that “Rich countries have bought enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to immunize their populations three times over . . . but developing countries are being…
Holy Lands Peace Pilgrim 