The research is in…ten out of ten people die. It’s one of life’s few guarantees. So why don’t we think about it more often?

Why does Jesus grow up in a seemingly insignificant town in a rural, agricultural part of northern Israel? To note, its population at the time was likely between 300-500 people…

What kind of spirit animates Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents? In Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, Joseph Ratzinger juxtaposes the two kinds of responses (to Jesus) that we see between the Wise Men and Herod. Speaking of religion, he remarks…

Why does Jesus go to Egypt? 

Circumstantially, Herod’s a narcissistic tyrant. So God gives Joseph a heads up to “get outta Dodge!” to save Mary and the child. But why does Matthew include these words? This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Hosea], ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ Something bigger (than Herod) is also happening.

After encountering the Christ-child, the magi could have gone back the same way they came. But they didn’t. They had met Truth face to face.

When it comes to encountering the Divine, it’s unsettling. It disrupts us. It shakes us. The difference is how we respond.

Have you ever heard of the connection between the Old Testament Prophet Joel and Matthew’s infancy narrative?

In Joel 2, there’s a picture of the coming of the Day of the Lord as a day of trembling and darkness, but also a day of repentance. 

What does a bird’s eye view of Matthew’s genealogy look like?

How often do you hear the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel and immediately feel the urge to tune out?

Welcome to Into Deep Water