N.B.: As a reminder, I will be using W.S. Merwin’s translation of Purgatorio. Dante stands now at the foot of Mount Purgatory, about to begin an ascent of purification. As a Protestant standing beside him, there is a part of me that wants to say, “Um, you know you don’t actually have to do this, right?…

Emerging adults often have their focus directed squarely upon the future. Parents and other concerned adults regularly ask them about the five and ten-year plans they are devising for adulthood. They are preparing for a future career and, at least potentially, a future spouse and children. They develop dreams of what they hope to be and…

Is ‘ādām unclean, trampled ‘ādāmāh? Can ‘ādām be re-formed, given New Life? In the Toy Story trilogy, being marked by Andy’s name not only changes how his toys see themselves but how they see toys who are not Andy’s. At first, Buzz and Woody are terrified by Sid’s warped and misfit toys—a doll’s head on spider…

Dirk Philips on Acts 2:5-13 Christ has stepped forward as the peaceful Solomon, our peace and hope before God the Father. Through his apostles who were clothed with power from on high on the day of Pentecost, he has built the temple in Jerusalem, that is, the Christian congregation, and has adorned it with manifold…

Martin Luther on John 6:35 Out of the mass of powerful words in the holy Scripture there is almost no stronger word than that Christ is a bread and meal given by God, and that whoever eats this bread lives forever and becomes content, no longer hungering or thirsting… It is a settled point that…

Huldrych Zwingli on Luke 24:13-18 That same day on which the Lord had risen, two of those seventy disciples whom the Lord had chosen while he was living went forth. It appears that these disciples fled out of fear of the persecution which they believed to be at hand. This history also teaches that what…

Martin Luther on Luke 24:1-8 You have heard about Christ’s resurrection, how it happened and why, and how we ourselves should benefit from it. This Gospel also teaches about such an application of the resurrection. For in the first place it is a great thing that the beloved angels are the first messengers who bring…

John Boys on Luke 24:1-8 Mary and the other women sought Christ on the first day of the week, and in the first hour of the day, but many put off seeking the Lord until the last week of their life, the last day of the week, the last hour of the day, the last minute…

Last week we looked at the Parable of the Talents in outline. This week we’ll zero in a little more on some interesting details that may give some insight into the topic of achievement. First, an obvious point: the talents do not belong to the servants; they belong to the Master. We are reminded that…

A crowd gathered around Jesus of Nazareth and wondered: Could this person be the son of David, the one who, like David, wreaks havoc upon our enemies? A few of the local leaders standing by did not take kindly to the clear implications of what they witnessed and accused the man of beating up his…

Johannes Bugenhagen on Colossians 1:15-20 Christ is the head and beginning of all things. Whether you look at the work of creation or the work of the new creation and redemption, Christ himself is the firstborn ahead of all creatures. He is the Author and Lord of all. He is truly the firstborn, glorified before all…

Last week we began to look at the story of Joseph, as recorded in the closing chapters of Genesis. As we saw, the first thing to acknowledge about Joseph is that he is God’s chosen instrument to deliver the descendants of Abraham from the threat of famine, and to bring them to Egypt where they…