Repentance and Grace
It is the Second Sunday of Advent – preparation in the church’s liturgical year for Christ who has come and is coming. And as it is every year, today’s gospel reading tells of the wild figure of John the Baptist in the desert crying out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”* Repentance […]
Expect the Unexpected
Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. When I get off the subway at night, and prepare to walk two blocks to our new apartment near the church, I get my keys out in the lighted station and walk with purpose and determination so I don’t invite harassment. Moving […]
Radical Presence
Thanksgiving and Advent are just three days apart this year. So this week’s Gospel reading* of Jesus’ crucifixion serves as unusual, dual preparation. I sense an invitation to deep reflection on the account of Jesus’ death and how it might prepare me this year to engage the upcoming weeks with radical presence. I have taken […]
The Oldest Advent Hymn – Dec. 24, 2018
The daily quotes this week are from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Advent sermon, December 17, 1933, found in The Mystery of Holy Night (Crossword Publishing Company, NY). “This song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn. This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary that we sometimes see in paintings; this is the passionate, surrendered, proud, enthusiastic […]
