Dec 20, 2013 | Advent, Christmas, faith, scripture
We should be afraid, of course, to be so near to God. We should be startled by the glory of God and the disruption of angels. We should be freaked. out. that God even blinks in our direction, let alone that God dares us to walk a new path just to see what God can do...
Dec 16, 2013 | Christmas, church, Easter, Monday Muse
Today’s “Monday Muse” may be less a muse that inspires worship creativity and more a muse that encourages thoughtfulness and conversation; this reflection is cross-posted on The Huffington Post. For the first time in more than a decade, I am not...
Dec 9, 2013 | Christmas, lament, Monday Muse, theodicy
The second Sunday of Advent has passed. The second candle in the Advent wreath has been lit in the name of peace. The tree has been cut from a hillside of firs or pulled out of storage and assembled in the living room. The Christmas shopping list has been checked and...
Dec 2, 2013 | Advent, Christmas, images of God, Monday Muse
I love this early line from the movie Love Actually! When Lulu Popplewell (as Daisy) proudly announces to Emma Thompson (playing Daisy’s mother Karen) that she has been given the role of 1st Lobster for the Christmas nativity play, I love that she unconsciously...
Nov 25, 2013 | Advent, Christmas, Monday Muse, sermon
Growing up, the rule in my family was simple: no Christmas music before Thanksgiving. As a church pastor, I held onto that same value of honoring each season in its turn: no “Jesus is born” hymns during worship in Advent. Truth be told, however, in my...
Nov 18, 2013 | Advent, books, Christmas, Monday Muse
A bumper sticker with a prominent nativity image proclaims, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” raising its witness to a Good News that isn’t contingent upon wreaths and light displays and holiday sales. Yet even “Jesus is the Reason for the...
