Am I my brother’s keeper? Nothing surpasses the joy and wonder of a child. The possibilities, the potentialities, the first steps, the crazed screams of jubilation arising over the sighting of a dog call each mother and father, each aunt and uncle and plenty of unsuspecting strangers to attention. This is inherent in what it…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The story of humanity from the beginning has been a long witness to the creations’ struggle to listen to the voice of the Creator. At first, the instructions were simple. “Breathe.” And it was so. “Be fruitful and multiply.” And it was good. But then then…
We are right smack in the middle of week 3 of Advent 2011. From last Sunday to this coming Saturday, we focus on the joy that the coming of Jesus has given us. There are two words on the subject of joy (this week’s Advent theme) so far that I want to pass along. Joy…
Come, Thou long expected Jesus; Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee. Early on in the professional wanderings of Jesus, the misfit band of God-in-flesh and his fishermen entourage came across an infirmary. This particular group of handicapped folks hung out in…
One little phrase from David sums up this strange relationship we have with the love of God. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. Love is only for the frightened. Camaraderie is reserved for those who are willing to be weak. Jesus can only be our homeboy if we are scared…
The prophet Amos had a rough life. He was born and raised to be a shepherd when, all of a sudden, one night in the fields, the word of the Lord came to him. That was it. His life was never the same. Instead of speaking softly to sheep, fending off wolves, Amos found himself…
I remember being in college listening to a super-spiritual professor tell us all about the church calendar. I could not believe somebody could find it in themselves to become genuinely ecstatic about the rhythm of the church, but there he was, almost squealing with joy over the idea of words like Maundy, Pentecost, Holy Names,…
