Tell all the truth but tell it slant—

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth’s superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind—

–Emily Dickinson

"Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach."

–The Return of the King

Jesus is the ladder uniting heaven and earth. He is the Son of Man and the heavenly man who unites the seen and unseen. He is the incarnate interface who makes it possible for the infinite grace of heaven to flood the finitude of earth.

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday is the enigmatic story of Abraham and his three mysterious guests while he was living in tents under the oaks of Mamre. It’s a story laden with theological implications…and tinged with a bit of humor.

The single best way to evaluate the practice of religion is to ask these two questions:

Does it prioritize mercy over judgment?

Does it make people more merciful?

If yes, it’s life-giving religion; if no, it’s death-dealing religion.

We tend to forget about the Holy Spirit. It's helpful to understand the Holy Spirit in the context of the Trinity. To do so, often people reach for metaphors, but all metaphors fail at some point. As we work to understand God the Holy Spirit, it seems like the Spirit is a backseat member of the Trinity because Jesus gets so much attention. However, the Holy Spirit is a fully active member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is fully God, though, at times, the forgotten God.

In explaining the remarkable events of Pentecost, the apostle Peter said that this is what the prophet Joel foretold would happen in the last days, and that this is what would happen before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit ten days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves living between Pentecost and Parousia.

For Christians, a Christological interpretation of the Old Testament is far more important than the original authorial intent. The Apostles were so committed to making scripture about Christ and Christlike, that, if necessary, they would change words in the original text to make the meaning Christlike. They understood that the supreme revelation of God is the Word made flesh and that scripture must be Christlike or it will be the letter that kills.