Mary Magdalene: The First Apostle

My friend, Heather, asked for my thoughts about John 20:1-2, 11-18, the story of Mary Magdalene at the tomb. As I started to compose a reply, I thought it might make a good blog, so Heather, here you go! John 20:1-2: Mary's first visit to the tomb Mary Magdalene came to Jesus' tomb early Sunday morning, "when …

A Tale of Two Cities—and Three Prayers

In the scriptures, there are often comparisons built into the text. In some cases, it's clear that an author intentionally did it to bring our attention to the contrast. For example, the two creation stories in Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 and Genesis 2:4-25; the contrast between Cain and Abel and then Cain and Lamech in …