For this joyful day of celebration, we feature a contemporary Easter poem by ESN author and scholar of early modern literature David Parry. We're honored to be the first publication to share it. … [Read more...] about A New Easter Poem
Lent 2017
Good Friday: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Luke 23:44-46 By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. Something is different. You had expected to hang around Golgotha for most of the day as Jesus endured a slow, painful death. Then, as soon as you settle in for the long hours ahead, the sky grows … [Read more...] about Good Friday: Jesus Dies on the Cross
Making the Second City Church Lenten Cross
Sculptor and art professor Theodore Prescott describes a collaborative Lenten project he led for a congregation in the city of Harrisburg, PA. We hope it provides rich reflection for readers as Holy Week begins. The project will also be featured in the forthcoming InterVarsity Press book Contemporary Art and the Church: A Conversation Between Two Worlds. I professed faith in Christ in 1970, right as I was completing my M.F.A. in sculpture. I was living in Baltimore, where I studied at the Rinehart School of … [Read more...] about Making the Second City Church Lenten Cross
The Perfection of our Praise: Reclaiming our Inner Folly on Palm Sunday (Scholar’s Compass)
For this Palm Sunday, ESN author and classical college professor Brandon Spun offers a meditation in the tradition of Erasmus's Praise of Folly or G. K. Chesterton's meditations on the lightheartedness of the saints (See Orthodoxy, "The Eternal Revolution," 5 paragraphs from the end of chapter). May it increase your joy in celebrating Christ our King! Scripture He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40, ESV) Reflection Palm Sunday clarifies the purpose of … [Read more...] about The Perfection of our Praise: Reclaiming our Inner Folly on Palm Sunday (Scholar’s Compass)
Fifth Sunday of Lent: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple
During Lent, ESN writer and InterVarsity graduate/faculty staff member Jamie Noyd shares her reflections. She invites us to meditate with her on six of the stations of the cross on which Christians have reflected over the centuries. See the post for the first Sunday of Lent here, the Second Sunday of Lent here, the third Sunday of Lent here, and the fourth Sunday of Lent here. You can explore Jamie's other work for ESN, on the book of Ruth and the idea of pilgrimage, here. John 19:25-27 Standing near the … [Read more...] about Fifth Sunday of Lent: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple