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What happened after Jesus' baptism? Why was he tempted in the wilderness? Who tempted him? What does temptation look like today?
"A human condition" is a reflection based on Mark 1:9-15.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Works Referenced

Carter, Warren. Mark (Wisdom Commentary Series Book 42). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2019. Kindle Edition.

Felicetti, Elizabeth. “In the Lectionary.” Christian Century Vol. 141, No. 2 (February 2024): 28.

Lettsome, Raquel S. “Mark.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.

Nadella, Raj. “Living the Word: Good News for Whom?.” Sojourners Vol. 53, No. 2 (Feb/Mar 2024): 47.

Ottati, Douglas F. A Theology for the Twenty-First Century. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020.

Perkins, Pheme. “Mark.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Wills, Lawrence M., annotator. “The Gospel According to Mark.” In The Jewish Annotated New Testament, Second Edition, edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Mark Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Kindle Edition.

Vena, Osvaldo D. “The Marian Construction of Jesus as Disciple of the Kingdom.” In Mark (Texts @ Contexts), edited by Nicole Wilkinson Duran, Teresa Okure, and Daniel Patte. Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fortress Press, 2011.

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What is a proverb? Does wisdom change with time? Where does wisdom come from? Is wisdom more important than intelligence?
"A case for natural wisdom" is based on Proverbs 1

Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.
For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease without dread of disaster.”

Works Referenced

Atkin, Emily. “Predicting climate chaos, Morgan Stanley touts air conditioning profit potential.” Heated. April 10, 2025. https://heated.world/p/predicting-climate-chaos-morgan-stanley

Clifford, Richard J. “Introduction to Wisdom Literature.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume III. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Dubner, Stephen J. “Ten Myths About the U.S. Tax System.” [Interview with Jessica Riedl.] Freakonomics podcast. March 14, 2025. https://overcast.fm/+AAWaLHnJsy4

Fox, Michael V. “Proverbs.” In The Jewish Study Bible: Second Edition, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Guo, Jeff, Latif Nasser, Pat Walters, Soren Wheeler, Alex Goldmark, and Jess Jiang. “PM x Radiolab: Can the economy grow forever?” Planet Money/Radiolab podcast. March 28, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/1241388988/radiolab-economic-growth-resources-gdp

Oduyoye, Amba Oduyoye. Beads and Strands: Reflections of an African Woman in Christianity in Africa. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2004.

Pauw, Amy Plantinga. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. (BELIEF: A Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.

Perplexity.ai, response to "What are the main themes of the Book of Proverbs," Perplexity.ai, April 10, 2025.

Zi, Lao. Dao De Jing. (Classical Pocket Book Series of China). Translated by Lin Yutang.

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Who among us sit in darkness? Against what backdrop do we live our lives? Why does cryptocurrency matter? How do we find our way to peace in this holiday season?
"Peace against a dark backdrop" is based on Luke 1:68-79
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his child David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors
and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
in his presence all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Works Referenced
CoinDesk. Bitcoin performance. Accessed December 6, 2024. https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin
Evans, Rachel Held. Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again. Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books, 2018.
Gonzalez, Justo L. Luke: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Kindle Edition.
Hinsdale, Jeremy. “Cryptocurrency’s Dirty Secret: Energy Consumption.” State of the Planet, Columbia Climate School. May 4, 2022. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/05/04/cryptocurrency-energy/
Reed, Jon. “How Much Power Does Crypto Use? The Government Wants to Know.” CNET. February 1, 2024. https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/how-much-power-does-crypto-use-the-government-wants-to-know/
Tannehill, Robert C. Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Luke. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.
U.S Energy Information Administration. “Tracking electricity consumption from U.S. cryptocurrency mining operations.” Accessed December 6, 2024. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61364

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When is it okay to kill a lot of people? How do the stories we tell ourselves sometimes lead to violence? How can we work within broken systems to promote survival?
"The stories that help us kill" is based on Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22.
References
Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: Third Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018), Kindle edition.

Death Penalty Information Center. “Facts about the Death Penalty.” Accessed September 25, 2024. https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/pdf/FactSheet.pdf.

Fentress-Williams, Judy. “Esther.” In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, edited by Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014. Kindle edition.

Murphy, Sean. “There are 5 executions set over a week’s span in the US. That’s the most in decades.” AP News. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-alabama-missouri-texas-south-carolina-d77a31bea7a4839424afc8889c7d8755.

Rahman, Khaleda. “US Reaches Executions Milestone Amid Declining Support for Death Penalty.” Newsweek. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.newsweek.com/us-reaches-execution-milestone-death-penalty-1959124

Von Quednow, Cindy and Holly Yan. “Missouri executes Marcellus Williams despite prosecutors and the victim’s family asking that he be spared.” CNN. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/us/marcellus-williams-scheduled-execution-date/index.html.

Wallace-Wells, David. The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming. New York: Tim Duggan Books, 2019.

Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs, Brown University. “Costs of War.” Accessed September 25, 2024. https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/WarDeathToll.

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Why did Jesus compare himself to a grain of wheat? What does it mean to love your life? What does it mean to hate your life on earth? Who was Melchizedek? Why did Jesus have to die? What is eternal life?
"Looking Beyond" is a reflection on John 12:20-33.
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew, then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit.
Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say: ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
Hebrews 5:5-10
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”;
as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered,
and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,
having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Works Referenced
Alexander, T. Desmond. (Genesis notes). ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008, Kindle Edition.
Blair, Merryl. “The 'Order of Melchizedek': Hebrews 7 as a Model for Thinking Ecumenically about Priesthood.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies Vol. 53, No. 1 (Winter 2018): 95-110.
Coloe, Mary L. John 11-21 (Wisdom Commentary Series Book 44B). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2021.
Milne, Bruce. The Message of John (The Bible Speaks Today). Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2020.
Moloney, Francis J. The Gospel of John (Sacra Pagina Series, Volume 4). Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1998.
O’Day, Gail R. “The Gospel of John.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VIII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
Ramirez, Felipe Fruto. “MELCHIZEDEK: A Minor Character of Great Importance to Biblical Theology.” Landas Vol. 33, No. 1 (2019): 17-36.
Stuckenbruck, Loren T. “Melchizedek in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament Vol. 41, No. 1 (2018): 124-138.

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