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Rembrandt van Rijn, The Three Marys at the Tomb, sketch; c. 1655. "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, …
Continue reading "The Beginning of the End: a poem for resurrection"
Today, is the celebration of All Saints' Day. What is All Saints' Day and why should we celebrate it? Since the 4th century, Christians have celebrated the lives of saints and martyrs. However, it was not until AD 609 that Pope Boniface IV dedicated one day of remembrance for all martyrs. Since that time, and …
Continue reading "All Saints’ Day: A Celebration and Encouragement"
"The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" (Luke 1:35) The Holy Spirit hovering overthe wombs of two unknown women. Unknownto the world's fame yet to God truly known. …
Continue reading "Holy Spirit Hovers Electric: a poem based on Luke 1:26-38"
James Tissot, The Resurrection of the Widow's Son at Main, Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper; 1886-1896. I wrote this poem as a reflection on the story of Jesus raising the dead son of a widow on the outskirts of Nain. You can read the text from Luke's gospel below the sonnet, but all …
Continue reading "A Resurrection Collision: a poem reflection on Luke 7"
This past weekend at Eastbrook, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus and began a new preaching series, "I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus," drawn from the Gospel of John. This week I began the series with Jesus' profound and shocking statement, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). You can find the …
Matthew Erickson 