“And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.” I have listened to numerous Easter cantatas and watched many Easter dramas, but none have ever mentioned Alexander and Rufus....

All of the ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end with these words: “Entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was...

Some years ago, a U.S. Naval officer was aboard a ship engaged in a training exercise involving battleships performing maneuvers during several days of heavy weather. On one particularly foggy night he was stationed on the bridge of the ship, as was the commanding...

When I was a young father on a warm summer’s night, I called for my twin boys, who were about a year-old, to come out on the front porch. I wanted to show them a huge toad that I had spied on our front steps. Ironically, the boys were wearing night-shirts that...

Jesus had come home. He had been on a triumphant journey around the surrounding countryside, granting sight to the blind, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the paralytics, and challenging religious authorities as he preached penetrating messages and...