As we follow Jesus, one of the things we have to deal with is the attitude, “my way or the highway!” This attitude is ingrained in us as we grow up in our culture. We want things as we want them and not in any other way, shape, or form. This is one of the […]
12.26.22 Interestingly, it was the shepherds, the humble, common folk, who first saw the baby Jesus. Later the Magi, wise men or kings, came from far away to bow before Him who was “born king of the Jews (Matthew 2:2).” Their search for the Messiah greatly disturbed King Herod who would have liked […]
The long-awaited birth of Jesus happens after Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem to register for the census decreed by Caesar Augustus. He was born in a manger because there was no room at the inn (Luke 2:4-7) Nearby, there were shepherds taking care of sheep, when an angel appeared to them, “and the glory […]
11.28.22 Advent The celebration of the birth of Jesus gets lost from the beginning in the Black Friday sales which are advertised in the weeks before Thanksgiving. Commercialism had taken over Advent over the last century, so that any church celebrations become just a footnote to this major gift-giving season. It’s sad because, for […]
26.22 Our bodies, and hearts, and minds, and souls are all connected amazingly into an interdependent system just like the interconnectedness of all the plants and animals, waters, sun, and sky are all interconnected on this planet earth. Within ourselves, if we are really aware of what is going on in our bodies as well […]
2.14.22 The Cross The cross is the precious symbol of Christianity, of Jesus’s death on the cross, of Jesus himself. When one sees it on most every church, in a necklace, on one’s altar, it is a wonderful reminder of our Savior and all that He means to us Christians. The cross is a […]
I grew up in a hell-fire-and-damnation church and one of the lessons I was taught there was that Jesus had to die a painful death on the cross to save us from our sinfulness, which started with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. I absorbed that lesson so well that, as a young […]
11.29.21 Advent Thanksgiving, gratitude to God for all that we are, all that we have, all that we are to become—Thanksgiving in our country ushers in Advent, the celebration of the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, in this world. Advent is the season of waiting, of anticipation, of knowing the gift that is […]
Our beautiful season of Advent starts in a week, but it is greatly overshadowed by the commercial use of Christianity’s foundational spiritual event in order to promote the materialism that dominates our society today. Two days ago I led a retreat on Preparation for Advent, the arrival of Jesus as a baby in this world. […]
We are awaiting the birth of the Christ child; it’s Advent season, the beginning of the church year, the celebration of Christmas. It’s a beautiful season of buying and giving gifts, but the meaning of Jesus’s birth gets lost often in the commercialism and materialism of how we celebrate it. Let’s take more than a […]