Zombie Apocalypse and the Reviving: A Reflection on Ephesians 2:1-10 A few years ago, I was teaching Romeo and Juliet to a 9th-grade English class. To give our unit some contemporary relevance, I assigned my students a choice of ancillary texts, including young-adult adaptations of Shakespeare’s 400-year-old classic. Of these spins, the most unique was Warm Bodies* by Isaac Marion. The book is narrated by R, a zombie who falls in love with a human named Julie.

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.... It was 2 a.m. as I sat in silence with a distraught friend when she suddenly whispered, “I don’t want God to give me a heart of flesh; my heart of stone keeps me safe.” She had been abused and abandoned in unthinkable ways by those who were supposed to keep her safe. Her heart of stone protected her.

A Reflection for Holy Saturday, April 19 by Eileen Lundy  Lectionary reading for 4/19/2025: Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24; Psalm 31:1-4,...

Isaiah 40 is often referred to during this season as an indication of how far in advance Jesus’ arrival was foretold as the Word Made Flesh.

A Lent Reflection for Friday, February 23 by Kim Delp Lectionary reading for 2/23/2024 Psalm 22:23-31; Genesis 16:1-6; Romans 4:1-12...