We are in the middle of Mark, which makes Jesus’ question the disciples’ midterm exam. Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” In other words, you are more than a prophet, Jesus. You are the one who’s c...  Read More

Suffering is a feature of life....  Read More

Why are we so scared of differences?...  Read More

“Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This ...  Read More

What unites us around God’s table isn’t our labels, our politics, or our ethics. What unites us is God’s invitation, God’s heart of love that makes room for us all. ...  Read More

“But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not b...  Read More

How do we as followers of Jesus live in a fearful world?...  Read More

After David dies, God comes to Solomon in a dream telling him to ask for whatever he wants. Solomon asks for wisdom. I wonder how much of religion and society’s dysfunction comes from pursuing the rel...  Read More

Wise people don't hustle for their own worthiness....  Read More

There is an order to our lives that we must all recognize, and we fight it to our own peril. The scriptures teach us about this order from beginning to end. Proverbs says, “Whoever sows injustice will...  Read More

Everyone knows Lord Acton’s famous quote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” but few of us know the very next sentence in that quote, “Great men are almost always bad me...  Read More

Rev. Joel Esala......  Read More