Author: trob

It is like when you throw a stone into a pool, and the concentric waves spread out further and further. Who knows where it will end? [George MacDonald in The Great Divorce]. In our recent journey through C.S. Lewis’s masterwork, we’ve encountered one of the most poignant scenes in all his writing: the meeting between…

As we enter into Holy Week, we find ourselves caught between two realities: the triumphant entry of Palm Sunday and the gathering shadows of the Passion. In these days that bridge both celebration and sorrow, we encounter Jesus not only preparing himself for what lies ahead but also preparing his disciples for their own journey…

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert [Isaiah 43:19]. What if the God we long for is already moving—just not in the way we expected? This Sunday’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah 43:16-21…

<blockquote> <p>The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the Passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the…

O God, you are my God; I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water [Psalm 63:1]. Jane and I have a dear friend who has spent the better part of two years confined to his bed. His back…

Abram’s Journey of Faith After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1) Why Abram? The question lingers whenever I reflect on the Genesis 15 text—the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday, the…

As we enter the season of Lent, our liturgical journey takes us from the mountaintop of last Sunday’s Transfiguration directly into the stark wilderness where Jesus faces testing. In Luke’s account, which serves as the Gospel reading appointed for this Sunday [Luke 4:1-13, RCL, Year C], we read that Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit,”…

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray [Luke 9:28]. In all three annual cycles of the Revised Common Lectionary, the Gospel reading for the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday is the Transfiguration story. This year, Year C, gives…

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt” [Genesis 45:4, a portion of the OT reading assigned for this Sunday, the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, RCL, Year C]. Simple words, spoken in an Egyptian palace, they…

One of my closest friends is a devout Roman Catholic who attends Mass almost daily. While I won’t share his name, many of my Gastonia friends will readily know of whom I speak. He and I share not only a hearty friendship, but a spiritual journey. We are sojourners along the same path, and I…