The paradoxes of sacrifice in Leviticus

James Bejon writes: Last week on the Theopolis podcast, Peter Leithart, Alastair Roberts, Jeff Meyers, and I worked our way through the first half of Hebrews 9. Below I want to highlight something which became clear(er) to me as we did so. Preamble The Levitical system was, in many ways, a system full of paradoxes. … Continue Reading

The paradoxical invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11 video discussion

The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 5 in this Year A is another odd selection of verses, Matthew 11.16–19 and 25–30. The lectionary omits the challenging words of Jesus’ judgement of the cities where he has ministered—but in fact these are integral the passage, which explores the paradoxes of Jesus’ ministry and response to it. … Continue Reading

What does Christmas mean?

Despite not preaching at Christmas services this year, for some reason I have found myself thinking about the meaning of Christmas more this year than most. To stimulate your thinking this Christmas Day, I simply offer two things—one ancient, the other modern, neither mine. The ancient focuses on the meaning of Christmas—or rather the incarnation—for … Continue Reading