It is fascinating to see the way that traditions have grown up around the celebration of Christmas, and how many of those traditions are not merely absent from the Bible, but in fact contradict not ...

The reading for Christmas 1, which is also the Feast of the Holy Innocents, is Matthew 2.13–18. This texts raises fascinating questions about history, how Matthew’s account here fits with the rest of ...

One of the problems about the development of traditions around Christmas is that people writing hymns or plays set Jesus' ...

This Sunday's lectionary reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Matt 1.18–25. It is a short reading, but laden with significance ...

The lectionary epistle reading for Advent 4 in Year A is Romans 1.1–7, which is a single sentence in Greek! Paul offers not just an opening greeting, but a programmatic introduction to the whole of ...

Contrary to popular tradition, Jesus was not born in a stable! Why? Because the 'manger' where he was laid was at the bottom of the main living area of a house in any normal first-century Jewish home.

The epistle for Advent 2 in this Year A is Rom 15.4–13. It follows on from Paul’s discussion about the ‘strong’ and the ‘weak’ in chapter 14, and in many ways summarises the themes of the whole of ...

I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word, phrase, or idea in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of ...

Last week, King Charles III and Pope Leo IV made history in the Sistine Chapel by praying side by side—’a first for the leaders of the Church of England and Catholic Church’ according to the BBC. For ...

The gospel lectionary reading for the so-called Last Sunday after Trinity in Year C is Luke 18.9–14, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector, and the epistle is 2 Tim 4.6–8 and 16–18. You ...