Life-Light
In the story of the annunciation, Mary responded to the angel, “How can this be?” That simple question echoes through the centuries and reverberates in me today. Close to Christmas morning now, my heart kneels in wonder at the incomprehensible mystery of the eternal Word and the specific Word of Jesus. The poetic beginning of John’s Gospel […]
Bewilderment
We enter this week before Christmas telling the story, beginning with these simple words: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.* I am struck by how ordinary (i.e., messy) is the start of the life of a Messiah. Messy in that it is not what we expect, not all that tidy and neat, and […]
What Did I Expect?
When I agreed to follow Jesus, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was forty years old, and had spent most of my life alternately yearning for and avoiding a deeper relationship with God. When I was in my early teens, I went to a Jewish summer camp in the San Bernardino […]
Clothed in Humility
I’ve always loved John the Baptist, the lonely wanderer, the poetic beauty of being “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” But I confess, this year I read about John and thought he was a bit of a weirdo. Walking around shouting at people, wearing rough clothes, scavenging for his food– John’s behavior […]