“You’ve given me the confidence to feel I can go out with someone else,” she told me on Valentine’s Day. Nearly 40 years on (and after over 30 with my wife) I can laugh at the back-handed compliment from a former girlfriend as she left me for another man. But at the time it felt… Continue reading Judas Iscariot (1) – Betrayal
Tag: misunderstanding
Mary Magdalene (1) – Fiction
After considering Judas’ lasting reputation, we now turn to another of Jesus’ followers whose story has been embellished and fabricated long after they lived: Mary Magdalene. Please read Luke 8:1-3 Coming from the fishing village of Magdala Tarichaea on the western shore of Lake Galilee, for centuries after her death she has been called a… Continue reading Mary Magdalene (1) – Fiction
Pontius Pilate (1) – Dilemmas
Second only to Julius Caesar, Pontius Pilate the governor of Judea who sent Jesus to the cross is one of the best-known Roman citizens who ever lived. His name is etched into the Christian creeds and is a vivid secondary figure in the Gospel passion stories. Please read Matthew 27:1-2,11-23 Pilate dithers over what to… Continue reading Pontius Pilate (1) – Dilemmas
Thomas (1) – Doubting
But what if Jesus hadn’t come back to life after all? Please read John 20: 24-25 What do you have doubts about? The Virgin Birth? The Resurrection? The turning of water in to wine? Prayer being answered? The very existence of God in a world of war, hatred, corruption, injustice, accidents, illness, terrorism, abuse…? Or… Continue reading Thomas (1) – Doubting
Woman from Samaria (1) – Prejudice
While the story of Nicodemus tells us that his initial encounter was deliberate, planned and at night, the woman from Samaria meets Jesus by chance (or so she thinks) in the heat of the day. Two encounters with the Lord. One a well-schooled and respected pillar of the community. The other, possibly, poorly educated and,… Continue reading Woman from Samaria (1) – Prejudice