Is Advent a time of mourning? Or is it a time of joy and peace? Or both? Or is it something else—a longing for completion, for perfection, for the end of conflict, for the coming of Christ’s kingdom, a longing seasoned with a dash of hope at its certainty and Read more…
Read Romans 15:4-13. Hope is an orientation of the soul, a direction of travel. It is an expectation of eventual arrival. It is motivation toward a goal, confidence in achieving it, joy and peace in the journey. Hope is building a house, planting a vineyard, raising a family. The lack Read more…
Read Philippians 4:4-9. In his concluding exhortations to the Philippians, Paul says “rejoice in the Lord always.” Perhaps not feeling that this was emphatic enough, he doubles down, “again I will say, rejoice!” The mature Christian life should be characterized by joy. In the face of celebration or of sorrow, Read more…
Read Colossians 1:9-20. The apostle Paul poured out his life to spread the gospel, to bring the good news to the gentiles, to make disciples of the nations. Since Paul was one of the key founders of the church, it’s worth our time looking at what exactly it was that Read more…
The Apostle’s Creed states the fundamental beliefs of the faith: “I believe in God the Father. . . He was raised again from the dead. . . I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, Read more…
Where simplicity is a special emphasis of the Quakers, the Catholic tradition of spirituality speaks more frequently of recollection. (I have white spots on my fingers.) In recollection, we re-collect all of our powers and turn inside, seeking God in silence and stillness, with whole heart and mind and soul Read more…
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. To this end we always pray for you, asking that God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and Read more…
Read Joel 2:23-32 and Jeremiah 20:7-9. Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my Read more…
Read Jeremiah 31:27-34 and 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5. In those days, they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But all shall die for their own sins. (Jeremiah 31:29-30a) The day is surely coming, says the Lord, when I will Read more…
I almost missed my daughter’s birth. While my wife and I were preparing for this event, she decided that she wanted to experience it to the full and to avoid any possible ill effects on our daughter. So she decided not to have an epidural anesthetic, and she asked me Read more…