Twice during the month of May, church bells thundered and shook the ground around me. At Rome: Ellen and I arrived at Rome on May 8 to visit Roman imperial and early Christian sites. Late in the afternoon we explored Trastevere (“Across the Tiber”), a section of ancient Rome where many first-century Jews and Christians…
This Pontiff was a Bridge Builder
Thank God for the life and witness of Pope Francis! His humility, pursuit of justice, care for the marginalized, and commitment to environmental stewardship made me grateful to be a Christian. In 2018 I waited in a chapel at Geneva, Switzerland for the arrival of the pope. Church leaders from several hundred Christian traditions had…
Come join me on a gospel journey . . .
Join a Christian pilgrimage to biblical sites in Greece and Türkiye. Learn about the Roman Empire and how early Christians witnessed.
Take inspiration from the midwives
Even today the Pharaoh, photographed last November as a mighty crouching sphinx, still seems powerful. But the book of Exodus doesn’t so much as give his name! It’s those who resisted Pharaoh’s cruelty on a grassroots level—midwives Shiphrah and Puah—whose names really matter. Scripture says trouble for the Hebrews began when “a new king arose…
It’s time to stand with suffering and vulnerable people!
Two thousand year ago the cruelty of Herod forced Jesus and his parents to go to Egypt for refuge. Today cruel policies in Washington threaten to force Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan. This in the wake of American-supplied bombs having reduced Gaza to cinders. Today Washington also threatens to violate the sanctity of churches, mosques,…
When a ruler becomes idolatrous
At a museum in Rome I took this picture of a head of Emperor Caligula (AD 37-41). With eerily familiar words, first-century Roman historian Suetonius describes Caligula’s rise to power:“Upon his arrival in Rome the Senate and a crowd of people who had forced their way into the House immediately and unanimously conferred absolute power…
Christians cannot be Crusaders
Any call for Christians to become Crusaders or to hate Muslims is as far from the gospel as we could go.
The heavens are telling the glory of God . . .
. . . and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork! In a churchyard in Ohio, USA, at the center of eclipse “totality,” Ellen and I watched in amazement yesterday as the moon slid in front of the sun. Through dense solar filter glasses we saw earth’s satellite take a progressively larger bite out of our closest…
“Dead” on the sidewalk in Holy Week
(Photo by Greg Swiercz, South Bend Tribune.) On Wednesday of Holy Week I lay “dead” with others on a cold sidewalk for forty-five minutes outside the office of our Congressman Rudy Yakym in Mishawaka, Indiana. (I am the second person from the camera, in the olive jacket.) The Congressman sends out mailings saying, “Israel needs…
Dog in the Manger
Near Bethlehem Bible College, where I was teaching a year ago, the “separation wall” is thick with graffiti registering anger, frustration, and yearning. Almost daily I walked down Star Street in Bethlehem to the Church of the Nativity to pray for justice and peace in a land with so much suffering. Visits to the manger…
Holy Lands Peace Pilgrim 