Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable…
~ Luke 15:1-3

Image: Fetti, Domenico, approximately 1589-1623. Lost Coin, Painting, between 1618 and 1622, Dresden, Germany, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54793 [retrieved July 24, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parable_of_the_Lost_Drachma_by_Fetti.jpg.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.
~ Jeremiah 18:1-3

Image: Potter, Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54856 [retrieved July 24, 2025]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurapadgett/3825087416/.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
Luke 14:7

Image: Cara B. Hochhalter, A Parable - Where to Sit. Print, 2019. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59048.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
~ Psalm 103: 1

Image: Cross and Tree of Life Banner, UPC Sanctuary.

He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
~ Luke 12:54-56

Image: "A New Command...", Public Art, Beijing, China, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54326 [retrieved July 24, 2025]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/portablematthew/3491085679/.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
~ Luke 12:32-24

Image: Lamp of Wisdom, sculpture, freestanding, Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire, U.K., from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54977 [retrieved July 24, 2025]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowanbank/5815103193/.

And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly…”
~ Luke 12:15-16

Image: Watts, George Frederick, 1817-1904. For He Had Great Possessions, 1894, Tate Britain, London, U.K., from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58462 [retrieved July 24, 2025]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfordshire_church_photos/413448324 - Martin Beek.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
~Psalm 85:10-11

Image: Hosea Takes Gomer to Be His Wife, Cathedral of Amiens, France, 1220-1240; from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=29457 [retrieved July 18, 2025]. Original source: image donated by Jim Womack and Anne Richardson.

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
~Luke 10:38-39

Image: Gentileschi, Orazio, 1563-1638?. Martha reproving her sister Mary, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55622 [retrieved June 19, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orazio_Gentileschi_-_Two_Women_with_a_Mirror_-_WGA8573.jpg.

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

~Luke 10:25-29

Image: The Good Samaritan: Modersohn-Becker, Paula, 1876-1907. Good Samaritan, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54709 [retrieved July 6, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paula_Modersohn-Becker_005.jpg.

“Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”
~Luke 10:3

Image: Anonymous. Seventy Disciples, from a Greek manuscript, 15th century, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56197 [retrieved June 19, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seventy_Disciples.jpg.

“For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
~Galatians 5:14

Image: Trinity Church, Boston – Cross, circa 1877, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=51526 [retrieved June 19, 2025]. Original source: Image donated by Jim Womack and Anne Richardson. This beautifully decorated kneeling stool needlework cover from Trinity Church, Boston, contains stylized flower and vine and heart motifs. The heart motif speaks to the love of Christ for the world, as he sacrificed himself on the cross in order to save others.

There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
~Galatians 3:28

Image: Courtesy of Vecteezy.com.

Does not wisdom call
and understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand…
~Psalm 8:1-2

Image: Robert Reid (1862-1929), Wisdom Mural, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. (1896), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54178 [retrieved June 14, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wisdom-Reid-Highsmith.jpeg.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them…
~John 20:21-23a

Kun, Eva. Coming of the Holy Spirit, 2016, Holy Spirit Church, Veregesyhaz, Hungary. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58640 [retrieved April 24, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VeresegyhazaSzentlelekFotoTalerTamas8.jpg.

‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young shall see visions,
and your old shall dream dreams.
~Acts 2: 17

Image: Hand of God, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Pickerington, OH, 20th c. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56818 [retrieved April 24, 2025]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Elizabeth_Ann_Seton_Parish_(Pickerington,_Ohio)_-_stained_glass,_The_Father.jpg.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
~John 14:27

Image: Bonardi, Noel. Love one another as I have loved you, 20th c., Corsica. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54340 [retrieved April 24, 2025]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/riot/2831885038/.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
~John 13:34

Image: Jesus Mural of Faith, Hope, Love, and Peace, 20th c., Chicago, IL. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56412 [retrieved April 24, 2025]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36847973@N00/3342340183 - CC BY 2.0.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
~Psalm 23:1-3a

Image: Catacomb of Callixtus - The Good Shepherd, 3rd Century, Cimiterio di Callisto, Rome, Italy. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54382 [retrieved April 24, 2025]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimforest/2594526135/.

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.”
~John 21:1-3a

Image: Peter Koenig, "Breakfast on the Beach," late 20th century, Parish of St. Edward, Kettering, United Kingdom. Courtesy of the Peter Winifried (Canisius) Koenig website, copyright 2020. https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/Portfolio/breakfast-on-the-beach

But Thomas (who was called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
~John 20:24-25

Image: Christ shows himself to Thomas, Mosaic Resurrection Chapel, Washington National Cathedral, artists Rowan and Irene LeCompte. Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition, Vanderbilt University Divinity Library.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
~John 20:1-2

Image: Copyright Kate Bowler, 2025

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
~ Luke 23:34

Image: Icon of Crucifixion, painted in a Christian community of Syria or Egypt, ca. 1560; Courtesy of Art in the Christian Tradition,Vanderbilt University Divinity Library

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
~Luke 22:14-16

Image: Swanson, John August. Last Supper (2009), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56552 [retrieved April 13, 2025]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.

Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the gentiles, and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
~Luke 19:31-34

Image: Copyright © 2025 Kate Bowler, All rights reserved.

Do not remember the former things
    or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
~Isaiah 43:17-18

Image: Copyright P. Raube 2025

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
~John 12:1-3

Image: Copyright © 2025 Kate Bowler, All rights reserved.

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
~Psalm 32:1-2

Image: Copyright P. Raube 2025.

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region…
Luke 15:11-13

Image: Copyright P. Raube 2025, All Rights Reserved.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!
2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Image: Copyright © 2025 Kate Bowler, All rights reserved.