Advent – Yet Alive

Homeless Encampments as Sacred Nativities

The Holy Family begin as travelers, find themselves unhoused, and end the story as political refugees: all while being entrusted with the very child of God.

Mary’s Song and Missiology

Listen to the various settings of the Magnificat text from Gregorian chant to the present. Embrace the fire of God’s justice. Find a way to help bring God’s justice to the Earth every week. It is the work that God would have us do.

Mary, the First Christian: A Commentary on the Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38

When I found out I was pregnant in mid-November, my very first thoughts were of terror. It wore off, but not nearly as fast as I would have expected. I have always been excited about becoming a parent, but the reality of it was far more terrifying than I had ever imagined. While my soon-to-beContinue reading “Mary, the First Christian: A Commentary on the Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38”

Bordering on the Shades of Death: The Choice of Advent

For those of us for whom the early nightfall quickly gets old, or who are exhausted by the dim prospects that we see in our world’s futures, Advent offers us a kindred spirit.

Advent and the General Deliverance

O Come, thou Dayspring, come and cheerOur spirits by thy justice here;Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,And death’s dark shadows put to flight.Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee,O Israel. —O Come, O Come Emmanuel, originally in Latin, 8th or 9th century I have always said that I have an Advent soul. It is the liturgicalContinue reading “Advent and the General Deliverance”

Waiting for New Life

“’Tis the irrational season, when love blooms bright and wild;if Mary’d been filled with reason, there’d have been no room for the child.” Madeleine L’Engle Twenty-seven years ago, I entered the season of Advent nine months pregnant. That year, 1994, as this, 2021, the lectionary texts that I preached beat a tattooContinue reading “Waiting for New Life”

Advent Against Apocalypse

I remain confident of this:I shall see the goodness of the Lordin the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 (NIV) Happy new year! The season of Advent is upon us, which begins the liturgical year. We light our candles, sing our hymns of preparation, and begin our Advent calendars. We decorate our homes, gather together,Continue reading “Advent Against Apocalypse”

Homesick

Homesickness is a funny kind of illness. It sort of hurts all over. In your throat when someone asks the wrong question at the wrong time. In your lungs when a reminder of what you’ve lost takes your breath away. In your core when there’s the gut-punch of knowing what you long for may neverContinue reading “Homesick”

Another Advent

Advent begins in the dark, in the licking of wounds, amidst the echoes of “No!” and “Go away!” This is where the spirit speaks in a hope that does not come to the well-adjusted but only to those who sprint through the woods in search of living water knowing that life is short and theContinue reading “Another Advent”