Author: trob

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” [Acts 1:6]. As some of you know, Jane and I honeymooned on Hilton Head Island, way back in late August 1971. We’ve been back for at least one week each year since that first matrimonial excursion. When the kids were small—our youngest, Gray is now 37-years-old and has three of his own—they said what all children heading to the mountains or the beach say as soon as their homes are out of sight, “Are we there yet?” In the first lesson appointed for this Sunday, Acts 1:6-14 [Ascension…

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed [Acts 17:32-33a]. How do you preach the Gospel in a university town? That’s what Paul must have been thinking when he arrived in Athens more than 1900 years ago. Things had gone alright in Thessalonica, or so he’d tried to convince himself. There, he’d followed his usual evangelism protocol. He’d arrived in town, introduced himself at a synagogue, discussed—then argued—the meaning of scripture with the local officials, told anyone…

But filled with the Holy Spirit, [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him [Acts 7:55-57]. In his short but weighty piece, “Meditation in a Toolshed” [from God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics], C.S. Lewis describes an unusual, enlightening encounter that occurred while he was standing in a dark toolshed. Outside, the sun was shining brightly. Through the crack at the…

[Author’s note: This meditation is adapted from an earlier piece published in Questions of Faith: Encountering Christ at the Point of Doubt and Confusion,” pp. 45-48, Mazarin Press, Raleigh, N.C., © 2018, Thomas A. Robinson. All rights reserved]. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice [John 10:2-4]. In many respects, the story of Jesus, particularly as detailed…

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, …. “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added [Acts 2:14a, 36, 41]. As I have shared with the members of “my” Wednesday morning Bible Study, I vividly remember the shortest sermon I’ve ever heard, although it took place almost 40 years ago. It was delivered by Father Oscar, then one of the priests at Belmont Abbey College and Basilica. I suspect that it was…

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have you; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed” [John 20:27-29, NIV]. Maybe it’s because I share his name. Maybe it’s because that name comes from the Hebrew word “ta’om,” which means “twin,” and, as many of you know, I’m an identical twin. Or maybe it’s because the moniker given to this apostle—“the Doubter”—seems all too simplistic. All too often the world…

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” [Matthew 28:8-10, NRSV]. For the past nine years or so, I’ve taken a daily walk. To be sure, during that long period of time, I’ve missed a few days—but not many. For example, in February, Jane and I both tested positive for you know what, and I missed three days…

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me [Matthew 21:1-2, a portion of the Gospel reading, Palm/Passion Sunday, RCL, Year A]. While the Gospel reading appointed for the First Sunday of Lent rotates during the three-year Lectionary cycle among the Synoptic writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the core story is always the same: immediately after being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus moves out into the wilderness where he…

Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was [John 11:5-6]. For the fourth consecutive week, the Gospel reading appointed for this upcoming Sunday consists of a wonderful, long “encounter” narrative between Jesus and others. Three weeks ago, we saw our Lord’s encounter with Nicodemus (John 3:1-17). Two weeks ago, we sat with Jesus at Jacob’s well as he encountered the Samaritan woman with a sordid past (John 4:5-42). Last Wednesday, although I wrote about the OT reading—Yahweh’s choice of David as the second king of Israel—the Gospel reading provided the…

And the LORD said to Samuel, “Look not to his appearance and to his lofty stature, for I have cast him aside. For not as man sees does God see. For man sees with the eyes and the LORD sees with the heart” [1 Samuel 16:7, THE HEBREW BIBLE, translated by Robert Alter]. The year was 1,000 B.C.E., more or less. The Israelites—not much more than a loose confederation of tribal groups—were gripped by a crisis that largely was of their own making. They had allowed Yahweh’s religious institutions to become corrupted. No longer tied together religiously, what little unity they had ever enjoyed was spiraling away. Externally, the Israelites…