Our Gospel reading today tells the story of the “triumphal entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem (cf Zec 9:9), riding a donkey, welcomed by cheering crowds, just one week before his violent death. It’s the first of three symbolic acts in Matthew 21. It’s the beginning of Passover Week: Jesus enters Jerusalem, the holy City of David …
Should Protestants reframe purgatory as final sanctification?
Last night, over a communal dinner, the conversation turned to John 17, and then to the status of Judas Iscariot, and then to the notion of “perdition” (Jn 17:12), which may refer to “destruction, ruin, or ultimate loss.” From there, we skirted around the theology of predestination and Judas’s assumed eternal fate, and then on …
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A prayer for Palm Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God,as we recall the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem,and our world groans with conflict and pain,we rejoice in the veiled genius of your kingdom:not established by violence or threatbut through humility, mercy, and love.You scatter the proudand lift up the lowly.Now plant within us the song of Mary,that we may celebrate your …
What’s so good about the Uniting Church?
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is distinctive among Australian Christian denominations because of a particular way of being church: it is intentionally ecumenical in origin, conciliar in structure, dialogical in decision-making, and diverse in practice. Formed in 1977 through the union of Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, it represents a culmination of ecumenical aspiration and an ongoing experiment …
Review of Seven Stories by Anthony W. Bartlett
Anthony W. Bartlett’s Seven Stories: How to Study and Teach the Nonviolent Bible (third edition; n.p.: Hopetime Press, 2026) offers a bold reinterpretation of Jewish and Christian Scripture, bringing together historical-critical scholarship, literary sensitivity, and the anthropological insights of French semiotician René Girard. Bartlett claims that the Bible is a progressive revelation that exposes the deep structures …
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