In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
(Aegean Sea sunset)
And he said,
“Yes, it was written long ago
that the Messiah would suffer and die
and rise from the dead on the third day.
It was also written that this message would be proclaimed
in the authority of his name to all the nations,
beginning in Jerusalem:
‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’”
But the other criminal protested,
“Don’t you fear God
even when you have been sentenced to die?
We deserve to die for our crimes,
but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
And Jesus replied,
“I assure you,
today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Restaurant Orizontes on Lycabettus Hill, Athens, Greece)
…and they said,
“Tell us,
are you the Messiah?”
But he replied,
“If I tell you,
you won’t believe me.
And if I ask you a question,
you won’t answer.
But from now on the Son of Man
will be seated in the place of power
at God’s right hand.”
“And there will be strange signs
in the sun, moon, and stars.
And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil,
perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
People will be terrified
at what they see coming upon the earth,
for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then everyone will see the Son of Man
coming on a cloud with power and great glory.
So when all these things begin to happen,
stand and look up,
for your salvation is near!”
(The Acropolis, Athens, Greece)
Taking the twelve disciples aside,
Jesus said,
“Listen,
we’re going up to Jerusalem,
where all the predictions of the prophets
concerning the son of Man will come true.
He will be handed over to the Romans,
and he will be mocked,
treated shamefully,
and spit upon.
They will flog him with a whip and kill him,
but on the third day he will rise again.
One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus
so he could touch and bless them.
But when the disciples saw this,
they scolded the parents for bothering him.
Then Jesus called for the children
and said to the disciples,
“Let the children come to me.
Don’t stop them!
for the Kingdom of God belongs to those
who are like these children.
I tell you the truth,
anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God
like a child
will never enter it.”
(Sunrise over the Aegean Sea)
“Two men went to the Temple to pray.
One was a Pharisee,
and the other was a despised tax collector.
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer:
‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—
cheaters, sinners, adulterers.
I’m certainly not like that tax collector!
I fast twice a week,
and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance
and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed.
Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow,
saying,
‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’
I tell you, this sinner,
not the Pharisee,
returned home justified before God.
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
One day Jesus told his disciples
a story to show that they should always pray
and never give up.
“There was a judge in a certain city,”
he said,
“who neither feared God nor cared about people.
A widow of that city came to him repeatedly,
saying,
‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’
The judge ignored her for a while,
but finally he said to himself,
‘I don’t fear God or care about people,
but this woman is driving me crazy.
I’m going to see that she gets justice,
because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”
Then the Lord said,
“Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.
…don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people
who cry out to him day and night?
…But when the Son of Man returns,
how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
(Staircase in Hotel Bretagne, Athens, Greece)
Then he said to his disciples,
“The time is coming
when you will long to see the day
when the Son of Man returns,
but you won’t see it.
People will tell you,
‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’
or ‘Here he is,’
but don’t go out and follow them.
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky
from one end to the other,
so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.
…it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot.
…it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day
when the Son of Man is revealed.”
(Steps to Mars Hill where Paul preached in Athens, Greece)