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The vision of things to come
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (Rev. 21:22-23))
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The longing to see him
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first…
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Feast of the Holy Innocents
This is what the Lord says:“A voice is heard in Ramah,mourning and great weeping,Rachel weeping for her childrenand refusing to be comforted,because they are no more.”This is what the Lord says:“Restrain your voice from weepingand your eyes from tears,for your work will be rewarded, ”declares the Lord.“They will return from the land of the enemy.So there is hope for your…
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Holy Scripture — a beautiful description by NT Wright
“Perhaps, indeed, that is what “holy scripture” really is — not a calm, serene list of truths to be learned or commands to be obeyed, but a jagged book that forces you to grow up in your thinking as you grapple with it.” — NT Wright, Paul: A Biography My life has been one of grappling. I wanted certitude and…
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The Feast of St. Stephen
Today being the first Sunday of Christmas is also the Feast of St. Stephen. What we seem to focus on in the Church is his martyrdom. He is the Church’s first martyr. Even the prayer for the day focuses on his martyrdom.
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Christmas and the gospel
On Christmas Eve we sang “Once in Royal David’s City.” Our music director, Wendell Kimbrough, has an amazing ability, as a psalmist, musician, and composer, to put together a rendition that is beautiful to sing. I couldn’t find anything like it on the internet, so chose the King’s College Choir rendition. It’s very formal, but it’s lovely to take in.…
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I have almost stumbled into this day
Christmas. The celebration of the birth of our Savior. What I take comfort most in the story of Christmas is the chaos.
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The notes in my Bible
I use digital and print combinations of the Bible. I appreciate both and I simply love having a physical Bible (or several). Recently I was flipping through my physical Bible looking up a passage and stopped on a couple of notes I had made in Lamentations not that long ago (2018). I was thankful I had dated them. The relevance…
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The favor of Mary
“The presence of the Lord that once overshadowed the ark in the tabernacle (Ex. 40:35) had now come to rest upon a lowly virgin (Luke 1:35). Mary is honored throughout church history because the Incarnation began within her.” — Hannah King, “The Gospel of Advent” (Devotional readings from CT Magazine)
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Holy isn’t comfort
We come to the place of Christmas. We sing with gentleness, “O Holy Night.” Holy is not comfortable. It is not even predictable. We want a sweet song to sweep away our problems and lavish us in comfort. But what is holy does not avoid pain or difficulty. Holy makes way for the good, but that is not always comfortable.
