Jesus was a Jew. Not just by birth, but he had a deep and powerful relationship with God and his culture. He did not come to offer a new religion but to broaden a religion that had confused the law with the belief. He did not come to remove the Roman occupation of his land but to strengthen the people toward faith over fear. Jewish law had turned...

This spring, as the lockdown blanketed the air like pollen, the thick yellow nuisance that choked our lungs and stole our breath, I planted seeds in the garden. The bloom of the seeds, perfect and secure in the soil and lined in a row, gave hope to the fruit of self-sufficiency. Callousness and complacency allowed my plants to be overrun and...

She is sitting in a chair, legs swinging, her face consumed by a big red frown. I’m quietly waiting for the water to boil in the kitchen, glancing over at her every few seconds. When the noodles are put in and I have seven minutes, I go to the chair across from her and calmly breathe.   “But she…” she starts to boil over the frustration that...