The Gospel of Mark is the oldest of all the gospels. I love it because it’s written by a regular person. It’s original language is full of grammatical errors and reminds me of a misspelled tweet that gets shared over and over because that message is just that dope. I love it because it’s like...

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The Gospel of Mark reads like good news for Habakkuk’s runner. The vision is made plain from his coming out of the river to his coming out of the stone tomb. And this coming out, this good news, like the prophet’s vision – is public. It is not just to individuals and insiders – but...

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The way Mark tells it, Jesus is a community organizer, Teaching principles that build and sustain powerful leaders and movements. Through repentance, we learn that “the first revolution is internal.” Through uncommon encounters, he affirms that “power is in the relationship.” Through solidarity, he reminds us to “stay with the experiences of our people.” And...

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In the gospel of Mark we meet a Jesus who conveys a great deal of urgency. The word “immediately” is used 40 times in Mark’s gospel. Jesus is always doing things immediately: Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat. People’s response is that way too: Immediately they left their nets and followed him....

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The good news in Mark’s gospel is that Jesus understands you. You meet not only the fully divine son of God who performs miracles but also a person with real life problems. At the beginning of the gospel, for example, his own family thinks he’s crazy and tries to “restrain him.” Mark’s gospel reminds you...

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The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of Mountains. Jesus is tempted by the devil on a mountain, he preaches the beatitudes in a sermon on the mountain, he prays alone on a mountain, feeds four thousand freshly healed and hungry people on a mountain, is transfigured by the illuminating love of God on a...

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Matthew was formed by the Hebrew scriptures. When he tells us the good news of Jesus he uses the stories of his heart and of his people. He sings of the saving love of God in the person of Jesus, with melodies he grew up humming. May we see Jesus as the culminating conclusion of...

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The name Haggai means “pilgrimage”, and the book which bears this name was written in the 6th century BCE. Its brief two chapters encourage the faithful remnant of Jews who’ve returned from exile. God instructs them to rebuild the temple, despite drought and other hardship. And God promises to overthrow their oppressors and bless them...

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A destroyed temple meant a destroyed means of communication with God. Yet God still sees these people and promises to bless them. God says to the faithful remnant: Rebuild. I see you. I am with you. I will deliver you. This Lent and always, may we also know that God sees us, hears us, and...

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In the post-exile world, Zechariah’s prophecies address the frustration of the people. While the Israelites have been allowed to return home, the temple lies in ruins. Rebuilding efforts have stalled and conflict has broken out, leaving the people wondering if they should keep going. Some of the people have even abandoned God, leaving Zechariah to...

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