Gospel of Matthew

Just like Jesus, you and I know what it's like to be tempted. We know what it's like to have a hunger for something we want, something that others might say we need, but that we know will serve only to distract or derail us.

Whether it's across the street, across the church pew or across the world, all of us have the power to reach just one needy person.

If we spend our borrowed time here on earth striving for upward mobility or trinkets of success and abundance, then we have missed the boat. Chasing money is a surefire path to loneliness, depression and emptiness.

Career-conscious Christians, listen up! Is Jesus calling us to re-evaluate how we are spending our time, our lives and our careers? Is he challenging us to break down and bust up the barrier between office and vocation?

Is Serge Etele and Congregation Beth Yeshourun the vanguard of a new and surprising revitalization of Judaism out of Africa?

In Matthew, we find the story of a woman who is healed merely by touching Jesus' cloak so that she can lead a new life. It's a beautiful story, and even more so if we consider her affliction: she had been bleeding for years.

How many Christians misunderstood the meaning of Jesus's teaching today? They may have walked home thinking that as long as they were not like those hypocritical other people, they would be OK before God.

I found myself thinking about an aspect of Dickens easily overshadowed.. I refer to his subtle use of biblical literature.

For my family, the biggest celebration has always been that of the Día de los Reyes Magos or Epiphany Day. The tradition is for kids -- and adults too -- to write a letter to the Wise Men with their wishes.

I've been struck by the ads and billboards atheists have purchased this year suggesting that Christmas is a myth. Struck. Not offended or angered. Just struck. And they may be right.

Angels direct, as it were the narrative traffic of both those infancy stories but there is one very special case of angelic intervention found only in Luke. This involves not just a single angel but the entire heavenly choir who descend to earth...

This is exactly how I feel. I love the language -- anguish, terrors, fear, trembling and horror. I'm not afraid of being dead. It's getting dead that bothers me.

Whatever the final outcome of #OWS, it's encouraging to find ourselves in dialogue about the common good once again. Our neighbors are starting to have faces, and that's crucial.

It couldn't hurt for Jesus to show up and weigh in on America's current economic and political challenges. It might be helpful if he issued a declaration about who should pay taxes, and how much.

Much in this country's political landscape has centered on equal access and opportunity for all. First century C.E. New Testament literature points to similar struggles.

Some extreme politicians are blaming hard working people for the economic hardships facing many of our states and communities. The attack on public sector workers is evidence of leaders who want to ask for more and more.

A God who is "just" is inclined to show special generosity to the poor and outcast. No wonder the respectable people get anxious.

Scripture advises that anger clouds our vision and hardens our hearts. It makes us base rather than noble. It blinds us to our own failings and encourages a dangerous arrogance. It makes us forget we need forgiveness as individuals and as a nation.

For Christians today reading it as insiders, the text may evoke nods of approval at some memorable statements by Jesus. Start poking around a bit, though, and a host of questions arises.

Few Christians abandon everything for the Gospel's sake. Most of us simply fit our Christianity into the open spots on our calendars. But Jesus links the life of discipleship with his own path.

Controversy about whether God, Joseph or another man impregnated Mary has been intense and perennial. The New Testament itself represents various views of Jesus' birth.

Jesus was converted that day to a larger vision of the commonwealth of God. He saw and heard a fuller revelation of God in the voice and face of the Canaanite woman. If Jesus could be changed, can we?

The truth is that many Western Christians could give a full tithe to their churches and a full second tithe toward the eradication of extreme poverty without losing much of our lifestyle.

Not that the evangelical old guard hasn't served others, but we are seeing a seismic shift in emphasis to one where it's all about translating belief into righteous action on behalf of others.

I figured in modern bible translations "homage" was left in the story of the Wise Men because it is such a classic, old, venerated expression ... "they paid him homage". Imagine my surprise when I opened the King James and found no "homage" at all.