River hope

Jan van Eyck, "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," c. 1390-1441 In the early chapters of the Book of Genesis, there are four rivers. Two are unknown to us today; the others are the Tigris and the Euphrates, flowing through present-day Iraq.  At the end of the Bibleโ€™s narrative arc, there is also a river. John …

The love that lifts us to glory

A reflection on the classic hymn, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus Part 3 By Rod Benson O the deep, deep love of Jesusโ€”Love of evโ€™ry love the bestโ€”โ€™Tis an ocean vast of blessing;โ€™Tis a haven sweet of rest.Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesusโ€”โ€™Tis a heavโ€™n of heavโ€™ns to me;And it lifts me …

Seven stanzas for Easter

By John Updike Make no mistake: if He rose at allit was as His body;if the cellsโ€™ dissolution did not reverse, the moleculesreknit, the amino acids rekindle,the Church will fall. It was not as the flowers,each soft Spring recurrent;it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddledeyes of the eleven apostles;it was as …

What is justification?

Or, How to find peace with God - A sermon by Rod Benson Romans 4:25-5:2 A lot can happen in three days. On Friday we reflected on what it means to affirm that โ€œChrist died for us.โ€ This morning, as dawn broke over Lithgow, people from various Christian traditions gathered at the old blast furnace, …