Audio

Faith Like Nicodemus

Nicodemus first shows up in John’s Gospel in the reading that we just heard. He is a religious leader, he is a man of great respect and great influence in the community, he is a well-learned man, and he has seen what Jesus has been doing. He is intrigued, he is drawn to it, but he’s not quite sure what to make of it. He knows that God is at work in this.

Lent as a Pilgrimage

Today is the first Sunday in Lent, a season in the church calendar where we are bidden to engage in self-denial, fasting, prayer, repentance, and reading of Scripture — to prepare our minds and hearts to receive the gifts of Holy Week and Easter. One thing we don’t emphasize as much any more, but which historically has been an important part of Lenten piety, is pilgrimage, and especially pilgrimage to the Holy Land where the events of the Gospel took
place.