“Look here, I am doing something new just now. Do you not see it? It’s like streams in the desert or a path through the darkness.” This time of year we often read this passage from the writings of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.
Paris, France. December 1847. Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, a wine merchant and poet known more for his drinking than his church attendance, was asked by one of the priests to write a poem for Christmas Eve.
Sometimes we build our hopes on firm foundations, well-established facts or reasonable assumptions. At other times, the foundation we choose on which to build our hopes might be somewhat shaky, whether we realize it or not.
When we were teenagers, my sister, Linda, was a goth. If you remember this particular cultural moment from the mid-2000s, it was all baggy black pants with chains on them, black eyeliner, and graphic tees for bands that were mainly screaming.
Sometimes we build our hopes on firm foundations, well-established facts or reasonable assumptions. At other times, the foundation we choose on which to build our hopes might be somewhat shaky, whether we realize it or not.
Uncle Mac was pretty tightly wound. Between running a small ranch lease, two Laundromats, and doing land specs for mineral rights across the state, he was pretty stressed most of the time.
My in-laws have a fatal failing, a form of group character flaw, that I can’t reconcile with: they don’t wait until Christmas to open their presents.
As we begin this Season of Advent its especially important to recognize, I think, that the peace of Christ is something much deeper than simply the absence of conflict.
Christmas — and all the days leading up to it — and silence? Pairing these two things is not the reality for most people.
Christmas Eve 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the first time the carol, “Silent Night,” was sung in worship.
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