*** Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:7-9 Nearly 13 months ago I took a chance and […]
Author: LynnPechuekonis
Not the Women You Expected
December brings us all back to the gospels to reread the narratives about the birth of Jesus. Matthew interests me because his gospel tells us about the visit of the Magi and all the troubles with King Herod. The gospel begins, however, with what some might consider the most yawn-inducing […]
Jesus, Mary and Martha in John’s Gospel
I’m spending a little more time in the Jesus-Mary-Martha stories on the blog this month, because I recently ran across an interesting article that interprets John 11 through a more literary lens.* Considered from this perspective, we can see that John used both Martha and Mary in their own way […]
Five Women in the Messiah’s Bloodline
I loved this post by Cara Strickland on the Junia Project blog last month. She said it so well that I thought I would share an excerpt with you here: Recently, I heard a sermon preached almost entirely on Jesus’ genealogy in the book of Matthew. I was visiting a church […]
Good Reads for the Soul
This lovely holiday season also coincides with the close of another year, and it has me reflecting a bit. I feel like I’ve been doing some stretching and growing spiritually over the past 12 months—a more blessed and joyful kind of growth than I experienced in the prior couple of […]
What a Friend We Have…
Remember that old hymn, “What a Friend We Have Jesus?” The lyrics speak of him bearing our sins and griefs, knowing our weakness, being the one to whom we can take everything in prayer — our refuge and solace. It’s a nice song, but a version written by the siblings Mary, Martha and Lazarus would have […]
Domestic Violence: A Christian Issue
I’m heading over to Charlottesville’s Shelter for Help in Emergency this Friday night for my monthly volunteer shift, so the topic of domestic violence is on my mind. Plus, I wanted to share some thoughts on this issue before October ends. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how important […]
Who in the World Is Junia?
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. (Romans 16:7 NIV 2011) Since the days of the earliest church writings, this passage has been a puzzle to readers who came to it […]
Losing Her Life and Finding It
The disciple Joanna was the topic of a post here a few months ago. I’ve learned so much more about her since then, and I’m excited to share with you the rest of the story. All the credit for this background goes to scholar Richard Baukham.* First, let’s review what […]
The Women Disciples — There’s More!
In this post we will look in more depth at the presence of the women disciples toward the end of Luke’s Gospel and consider their significance. We’re following up on a previous post, “Jesus and His Traveling Disciplettes,” which explored the way Luke’s Gospel places women as a regular presence […]