In the midst of lament, Israel finds hope in the prophetic promise of a human being who is anointed by God to be a liberating leader. Israel’s national history is born...

Great loss turns our world upside down and sends us to the floor; to the basics; to cold, hard truths. What’s real? The loss Israel has experienced is exile—the loss of...

Advent is a season when we pay closer attention to the presence and absence of light. The days are shorter—light is more scarce—as we move closer to the winter solstice, after...

When we are impatient and restless, the counsel to be patient tends to evoke further impatience. Imagine James speaking these words to John through the prison cell bars (see Matthew 11:1-11)....

What was John to think when the messengers reported through the bars of his cell? Humanly speaking, he had to have wondered, What about me? There was no word of hope...

“Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me,” says Jesus to the delegation from John the Baptizer’s inner circle. Who would be offended at Jesus? It sounds odd to us....

When you are denied your share of the planet’s wealth, refused your humanity, or live in unending pain or mental anguish, the counsel to “be patient” is the last thing you...

Mary was one of the “lowly” ones in verses 48 and 52 (Hebrew: anawim; Greek: tapeinos). In the Old Testament, the anawim were the poor of every sort: the vulnerable, the...

In Psalm 146 the psalmist sees history—personal, societal, and cosmic—held in God’s faithful care. Intervening causes and human agency shrink before God who “reigns forever.” We are counseled: Do not trust...

Hope is in the air. Here are images of nature flourishing, bodies healing, highways leading home. You can taste it, feel it, smell it. God’s covenant promise tips toward fulfillment in...