I don't much like the days and weeks after Christmas. Christmas takes so long to get here, with preparations and anticipation building from mid-November on. And then, sometime during the day of December 25, it all collapses.
Christmas | Nativity of the Lord (Year A Year B Year C)
Proper 1: Isaiah 9:2-7 (Psalm 96); Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14, (15-20). Proper 2: Isaiah 62:6-12 (Psalm 97); Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20. Proper 3: Isaiah 52:7-10 (Psalm 98); Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14
What do these words from Isaiah ben Amoz mean for us? My first instinct is to meditate on Isaiah 9 in light of its historical situation, which is bound up with the geopolitics of the late 8th century BCE.
January 21, 2014
The story of Jesus, at least the way John tells it, begins unspectacularly. “There was a man sent by God, and his name was John.” What does John do for a living? He is a preacher. We can’t get to Jesus without going through a witness, no epiphany without preaching.
January 13, 2014
The miracle of love is that the more you love, the more alive you are. Keeping Christmas is believing in the transforming power of love.
December 23, 2013