Under the Lectionary

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. — John 1:5, NKJV The Nicene Creed, hammered out in 325 CE by a council convened by an emperor who had not yet been baptized, produced a formula that has defined Christian orthodoxy ever since: lumen de lumine—light from light, true God from true […]

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher).” — John 20:16, NKJV Seven. Before it is a number it is a structure. Seven days and creation is complete—not merely finished but whole, the seventh day itself the completion that gives meaning to the six that preceded it. Seven

“Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” — Matthew 15:28, NKJV She had no claim. By every measure the first century world recognized, she stood outside the circle of covenant, outside the tradition, outside

“En archē ēn ho Logos.” In the beginning was the Word. — John 1:1, NKJV The entire story of creation begins with just that: spoken into existence. In Genesis 1, G‑d does not gesture, does not craft with hands. He speaks. Yehi or—let there be light—and there is light. The Word is not descriptive; it is generative. It does

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.—Matthew 7:13–14, NKJV The Sermon on the

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor