This third week in Advent is the week of Joy, the rose candle week on your Advent wreath. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say it: Rejoice.” Why? One simple reason for joy: The Lord is near.
Life
Stories, reflections, meditations on life as it is lived.
Beloved, Let Us Love
Divine love is not the same as our love. It is not the love of a parent for a child or the passion of lovers or the love of brothers, though these are all embraced by divine love. Divine love is not a feeling but an action, an act...
A Living Hope in a Living Christ
It is terribly easy to become hopeless, to fall into despair. The darkness of the days, the darkness of the times, the darkness of evil in the world, the darkness of our own hearts can easily drive us to despair and the loss of hope.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness. The word is central to what we believe. We hear it often, and hopefully we speak it more often. We pray for it. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This past week we saw and heard what that looked like in a...
Covering Up
You probably heard the story by now. Carson King, a 24-year old man from Iowa, holds up a sign asking for beer money at a college football game to replenish his dwindling Busch Lite supply. Donations come pouring in like a frat house kegger. Then matching donations, along with...
Silence
I talk too much. I know that, and those who know me know it all too well. It’s an occupational hazard for a preacher. I pontificate, I preach, I lecture, I dump the latest contents of my head on anyone who will listen, even if they aren’t listening. People...
Slowness
I decided to improve my handwriting, which had deteriorated to the point where even my pharmacist couldn’t read it. Years of banging away at the keyboard had taken its toll on my penmanship. Even my printing had become illegible. I could not decipher notes I had scribbled to myself...
Tourists, Travelers, and Pilgrims
Too often, we travel as tourists, bringing the comforts of home along with us. Tourists are known for their excess baggage. You can easily spot a group of tourists. They travel in tightly closed groups, surrounded by their own language, tastes in food, and culture. They prefer to keep...
Slowing Down
I’ve incorporated the psalms into my daily prayer practice in a more intentional way. The monastics pray the entire psalter weekly or monthly; I’m content with two to three psalms per day; four if they’re short. There are 150 psalms in the psalter (151 if you use the Apocrypha),...
From Convention to Conference
It’s good to be home again. After a week of rain, humidity, and heat in Tampa, FL at the synodical convention, it’s good to be home. I’ll be home just long enough to wash my clothes, prepare a sermon, and head down to Irvine for the last of the...