Years ago, I made a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s cathedral in Rome. My core intention was to see Michelangelo’s Pieta. Mired in grief at the tragic death of a sibling, I...

Joseph survives the abyss of slavery. In fact, incomprehensibly, he not only survives, he thrives—becoming the ruler over all of Pharaoh’s possessions, even lord over the entire land of Egypt. Joseph’s...

“So the brothers sold Joseph to some traveling merchants who promptly took Joseph to Egypt” (ap). We know what that means. As sure as if Joseph had been taken to the...

Beaten and left for dead in a dried up well; sold into slavery by your own family; tossed about by tempest winds within a stormy sea. Life can be brutal. Sometimes,...

This chapter of Matthew’s Gospel invites us to compare two banquets: Herod’s decadent feast of excess, arrogance, scheming, and murder in a royal palace and, in this passage, Jesus’ impromptu feast...

When this story begins, Jesus has just learned of the murder of his cousin John at the order of Herod. He wants to be alone for a while. But, as always,...

Paul is agonized over Israel’s failure to recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. It breaks his heart that they cannot share his conviction that Jesus is the fulfillment of the ancient...

This passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans reveals a deeply personal side of him. He confesses his “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” that his “own people,” his fellow Jews, have...

This psalm of David is a tough one to read. And it seems a dangerous one to pray. The psalmist is sure of his own righteousness, convinced that his personal enemies...

In this passage, Jacob fords the River Jabbok with his whole family and everything he owns, and he sends them on ahead of him. We do not know why he stays...