The Bible as Literature

The Greek ὑπομονή (hypomone) is a compound: ὑπό (hypo, under) and μονή (mone, a remaining, from μένω, meno). Literally: remaining under. The one who endures is the one who remains standing under the pressure of weight. This is not a second concept grafted onto μένω (meno); it is ...  Show more

When Luke records Jesus commanding the Twelve to take nothing for the journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, he activates a deliberate stripping that recalls the scriptural logic of exile as exposure. The Hebrew root ג-ל-ה (gimel-lamed-heh) can function as “to unc ...  Show more

Homily: The Prodigal Son, The Lost Sheep, and the RavenFr. Marc BoulosSunday, February 8, 2026In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Today’s Gospel (Luke 15:11-32) forms a diptych with the parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7), which unfortunately ...  Show more

My mother was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, a land where hospitality is not sentiment, not a virtue to be cultivated, but obedience. It is not taught, debated, or defended. It is enacted. The land itself bears witness to a scriptural way of life that precedes institutions, border ...  Show more

Human beings move as a flock. What feels like freedom is motion inside a herd. People act the way they do because of pressure, habit, fear, desire, reward, or past experience. When we make decisions, we are responding to systemic forces already acting on us, even when theologians ...  Show more