Paul Wadell

Christianity does not claim that suffering is good, but it does teach that we can make our suffering productive of good.

Like Levi, when we answer a call, we never know where it will take us, what it might ask of us, or how it will change us.

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes”?

The irony is striking because the blind man’s response testifies that he, who cannot see, is the one person in the story who recognizes that Jesus is not just a carpenter’s son from the tiny village of Nazareth, but indeed the son of God.

All creatures, even the smallest and seemingly most negligible, are prized by God; all things, even chattering sparrows, are loved through and through.

...we make our way into the Kingdom of God when our lives are characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The household of God is our true place of belonging, the foundation and center of our lives; no other “household” should ever supplant it.

Today we meet a Jesus who stirs things up, who rattles, provokes, disturbs, and perhaps even frightens us.