Cliffhanger

I enjoy old movie serials and television episodes. Many of these installments ended in what has come to be known as “the cliffhanger”. Simply put, this is a plot device in which the installment ends with a character in a precarious position. It is also intended as an incentive for the viewer to want to watch the next installment. Until then, the viewer is left wondering how the character can possibly escape almost certain doom. There is an old saying that states life imitates art. For those who do not know the risen Lord, death appears to be the ultimate cliffhanger. Is...

Unrecognized

Although Easter Sunday was several days ago, we are still in the Easter season. Before COVID-19, the Sundays following Easter would remind us of this. Sermons, hymns and prayers would help remind us of the importance of the Resurrection, As such, I find my thoughts returning to one fact about the immediate aftermath of the Resurrection. People, including those closest to Jesus, did not recognize Him at first, This started when Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty. She then told the disciples who came to see for themselves. After she was left alone, she encountered the risen...

Solitude and Prayer

COVID-19 has changed the way we live. Like many others, I am working from home now. I miss not being at work and I certainly miss the friends I have made there. I long for the day when I can attend church once more, I think I miss my students on Sunday mornings most of all. We were not designed to live in perpetual solitude Yet even for those living with family, there will be times we still find ourselves alone, But this is not altogether a bad thing. Scripture tells us time and again that even Jesus went off to be by himself. Perhaps the clearest example can be...