But right off the bat, we notice that having cute little children portray angels doesn’t really do angels justice. Every time we encounter angels, one of the first things they say is, “Fear not!” Read more…
Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: Zechariah
Zechariah has been in the shadow of his famous son – John the Baptist. John certainly is an important character. But Zechariah was a man who had waited a long time, and so we can benefit from his story as we wait.Read more…
Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: The Magi
What is of interest to us is the fact that when they inquire of Herod they say, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matt 2:2). Read more…
Supporting Cast to the Christmas Story: Shepherds
The shepherds, perhaps because of their lowly status, are the first to be told of Jesus birth.Read more…
Advent: Joy Amidst Sorrow
If you have kept an Advent wreath this Advent, this week you lit the pink candle. Each candle has a different theme. The first two candles were hope and peace. Next week’s candle is love. This week is joy. JoyRead more…
Advent and John the Baptist
It makes sense to speak of John in Advent. John the Baptist is the one we know is coming to “prepare the way.”Read more…
Advent and the Second Coming
This is the first week in Advent. What is Advent you ask? Simply, it is the four Sundays before Christmas (see my post from last year). As a separate liturgical season, Advent has its own areas of focus. Perhaps theRead more…
(After) Advent: Celebrating Well
Yes, Christmas Day has come and gone, but Christmas lasts twelve days.Read more…
Advent: Set the Captive Free
More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade. This comes from the web page of the International Justice Mission (IJM). This is not to denigrate the horrorRead more…
Advent: Walking in Deep Darkness
Are you scared of the dark? Read more…
Advent: Embarrassed by Hope?
You might have noticed that May 21 came and went without anything too unusual happening. Likewise October 22 dawned in similar fashion to October 21. These two days were predicted by Harold Camping to be the end of the world (itRead more…
Advent: Watching and Waiting
How do you deal with waiting? Are there things that you find especially hard to wait for?Read more…
Why Bother with Advent?
Why should we bother with a thing like Advent? Isn’t Christmas the “real deal”? There are several reasons why Advent is worth observing.Read more…