Imagine, if you will, yourself on the shores of the river Jordan. Down by the river is a man—long-haired, dressed in camel skin—yelling at the top of his lungs.
Category: Church Year
Redemption Draws Near
(The Year is a series of occasional reflections on the Sundays and Holy Days of the church calendar, featuring scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.) Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16| Psalm 25:1-10 | 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 | Luke 21:25-36 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by…
The Good King
(The Year is a series of occasional reflections on the Sundays and Holy Days of the church calendar, featuring scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.) Readings: Daniel 7:9-14 | Psalm 93 | Revelation 1:4b-8 | John 18:33-37 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.His dominion is an…
Halloween and the Victory of Christ
(I was recently asked to write a post on Halloween and Christianity for the good folks over at the Institute for Christian Psychology. I don’t have a ton of background in psychology, myself, except for frequently dealing with low-grade depression and experiencing seasonal depression every winter. Still, because of this, the truths that Halloween and…
Advent 4: The Reconciler
In the story of redemption, the grievance is from one direction and the reconciliation from the other.
Advent 3: Joy?
It’s easy to get depressed when circumstances don’t go as we plan. Happiness in wavering, though. What we must rest on is joy.
Advent 2: Peace
Year A Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10 | Psalm 72:1-19 | Romans 15:1-13 | Matthew 3:1-12 So, this post is a day late. That’s somehow fitting for an Advent post. I mean, the prophets and Jesus himself spoke of his second coming as a seemingly close event, but we’ve been waiting almost two thousand years. And while time beats…
Advent 1: Prepare
It feels unbelievable sometimes, yet it is a promise given to us. There will be a day when the nations of the world will not make war. The disunity of humanity will end, and the Lord will come to establish his Kingdom. But what do we do until that day of peace?
The Lent Trap
Lent. Otherwise known quite often in my mind as six weeks without soda–or something like that. Oh, it starts off well enough. The first few days I’m really into it. I go to my church’s early morning Ash Wednesday service. I’m reading the scriptures, prayers, and devotions of the season. I’m challenged by fasting from…
Advent is Not Christmas
The season of Advent is directly related to the season of Christmas, but it is not Christmas. Christmas itself begins Christmas Day and lasts for twelve days, followed by the also-related season of Epiphany. Often, we confuse Advent for Christmas itself. It’s easy to do with manger scenes, Christmas trees, festivities, and such things. There’s certainly…
