Mary Magdalene. The “other” Mary. Two travelers walking down a road. Simon Peter. John. These are some of the people who interacted with Jesus after his resurrection. Each gospel presents the Easter story as a movement from sadness to chaotic confusion to utter bewilderment and joy. And yet the earliest writing we have about the resurrection of Jesus comes in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Scholars think this letter was written around the year 51, and in chapter 15 he reminds the...

In last Sunday’s sermon I mentioned that during World War II, as war was spreading across Europe and into England, the BBC in London broadcast a series of radio dramas on the life of Jesus. They commissioned the acclaimed novelist Dorothy Sayers to write a series of twelve dramas that would bring to life the story of Jesus to the modern listening audience. The series of plays was entitled The Man Born to be King . The plays were a huge success. It was reported that C.S. Lewis, who was a...

Yet even now, says the Lord,     return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;     rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God,     for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,     and relenting from punishment. -Joel 2:12-13 Last Friday morning I went past Meadowbook Park in Urbana and noticed that the large prairie field had been burned. I could still smell the remnants of the fire. Some parts of the...