The true miracle takes place, not when the man first sees the world, but when he first recognizes his Savior. This is why we need the whole story…In that moment, the man who has been cast out of every community he has known discovers where his true belonging lies.
Jesus invites us to find grace in the magic of water flowing out of rock, to see in its steady stream God’s provision, God’s abundance, God’s hope, all enduring no matter the madness pressing in on us.
The devil isn’t pressuring Jesus to doubt his identity as the Son of God. He’s asking him to secure it. To prove it. To seize it. To claim it on his own terms. And Jesus refuses.
When the Church no longer has faith in the eternal power of a single, loving act, then we accept the terms of engagement that the sinners and the tax collectors have set, and we become complicit in the very horrors we intended to oppose …
The Sermon on the Mount: A Mission Impossible Michael Battle Trinity Church Boston February 8, 2026 Lectionary: Matthew 5:13-20
How are you managing the stress of these days? Where do the words of the Beatitudes speak comfort and encouragement as you see direction forward? How do they turn the world upside down for you?
Basically, John is that one friend from college who needed to make everything ‘deep’ and ‘profound’ and ‘big picture’ when you just wanted to complain about your professor.
These graces remain more than regional fashion; they intend respect and appreciation, expressing our mutual recognition of one another, even in disagreement …
John’s account says nothing about a manger—nothing about Mary and Joseph—no mention of a baby. But the Church [makes] the claim that both Luke’s Nativity and John’s Prologue are equally Christmas stories. Both Christmas stories are true.
