All analogies fall short in replicating reality. And yet a good analogy illuminates what is real, offers perspective, and provides direction. With that qualifier, I offer that if a congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA) represents the body of Christ, the session – the collective of elders elected by the congregation to represent and lead…
Of the many eternal contributions to the Christian faith offered by St. Francis of Assisi, the Stations of the Cross may be his most enduring. To this day devout Christians, especially those in the Catholic tradition, process through a solemn ritual on Good Friday that puts them face-to-face with the sufferings and passion of Christ….
This week, with my feverish excuse in the rear view mirror, I nonetheless return to my Lenten companion, poet, and prophet Walter Wangerin. In his twenty third day devotion he drops us into the Good Friday moment when Pontius Pilate offers the people an apparently benevolent, yet politically motivated, gift: they may choose one prisoner…