There is a reading from the book of Job in this Sunday's assigned readings.Given that the Easter season, following Lent as it does, is a festive time in the church year, I wondered why. The following are my thoughts on the matter. The book of Job is a reminder to us that we are entirely dependent on God's love and mercy for our very existence.Job, in spite of all his suffe...

Nearly two thousand years ago, citizens and visitors filling the city of Jerusalem and its neighboring villages eagerly prepared to celebrate the Passover, a feast that Jewish people observe annually around this time. Gathered around tables laden with Passover foods, fathers and mothers retold the story of Israel's exodus from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They recalled t...

Among the many hymns written by Isaac Watts, the 18th-century hymnist and theologian, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" may be considered his magnum opus. The five-stanza hymn begins: When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. These ideas are radical and counterintuitive to accep...