“What does it mean to be a prophet?” This is the challenge preachers must wrestle with and present to their congregations over and over, says Luke Timothy Johnson, a renowned Scripture scholar, ...

One man’s mountain is another man’s plain. In Luke (6:12-17, which precedes today’s Gospel) Jesus goes up a mountain to spend a night in prayer. The next morning he picks his Twelve Apostles. Then, ...

We talk, we read, we write, we listen. We surround ourselves with print on paper and walls and screens. We surround ourselves with sounds-making-words that convey meaning and images. Except for the ...

St. Mark’s feast day, celebrated on April 25 each year, provides an opportunity to reflect on the radical message of the Christian Gospel. Tradition holds that Mark, the author of one of the four ...

Father Joshua J. Whitfield provides a reflection on the readings and Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2026.

Editor's note: Click here to download this sermon. A few months ago, I began a series on the Book of Judges by asking every one in my congregation to stand. Then I asked the people who had never heard ...