Advent and Christmas
God is a compassionate God…who has chosen to be God-with-us…. Here we see what compassion means. It is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not a reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those […]
Wonderful Words
For Sunday, January 5, 2014 – John 1:1-18 I am thinking of the old hymn: “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Help me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life” (text by Philip P. Bliss, 1838-1876). Some of the most beautiful words in scripture are today’s opening verses of the gospel […]
We Are the Story
For Sunday, December 29, 2013 – Matthew 2:13-23 Imagine a city stripped bare of its toddlers. A chill runs through us to think of Herod orchestrating the murders of children two years old and younger in and around Bethlehem, driven by his deranged fear and lust for power, his obsession with the prophecy of a Messiah’s birth. And no one stopped him. […]
The Stories We Tell
For Sunday, December 22, 2013 – Matthew 1:18-25 When we look back on the big stories of our lives, we can see that the disruptive and disturbing parts are quite often what make the stories memorable and even valuable to us. In the middle of living through the disruptions, however, we are less apt to appreciate their value. […]
