The Feeding of the Five Thousand, the Eucharist, and the Hope of Israel (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time) POSTED BY DR. MICHAEL BARBER ON 07.31.14 | This Sunday the readings highlight the way the Kingdom of God is present sacramentally. Specifically, hopes for the restoration of Israel are linked to a miracle of Jesus, the feeding of the
In the Bible the seventh instance of anything is significant. Seven is the number signifying God’s covenant, and so it suggests a certain completion and perfection. As we approached our seventh annual Letter and Spirit Summer Institute, it would have been natural to wonder whether our Institute has now become an institution. Every year we
It was the Bible that made me read the Fathers. When I was studying for the Presbyterian ministry, I wanted to understand the world where Jesus lived and where the apostles preached. I wanted to defend the New Testament canon against its latest round of challenges, for example — against those who would place the
Most people know him from the single episode in the upper room after Our Lord’s resurrection (John 20) when he at first refused to believe without seeing. And if you refer to “Doubting Thomas” everyone will know whom you mean. But when you take a look at his whole life and his martyr’s death, it
