Light and Shadow: Grace and Truth About Our Lives
The Story of Christmas is Eternal Light shining in the darkness and Eternal Love that united God and humankind forever in Jesus of Nazareth (Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1-18). Johns beautiful hymn reveals a world of light and shadow, of divine grace and demonic deception, of receiving and rejecting love.
Advent and Work: Insights from the Nativity for Pastors
Jews and Christians celebrate the good works of the Creator, from the macro- and microcosmos to the intricacies of the human person being shaped in their mother’s womb (Psalms 19 and139). Ancient Israel was encouraged to remember the works of the Lord (Isaiah 40-43) and Christians are focused the central work of Jesus: his death on the Cross and victorious resurrection (I Corinthians 15).
Advent and Anthropology: True Equality and Honor for Women
The Gospels of Matthew and Luke have extensive birth narratives with the young, betrothed Jewish woman name Mary as the focus of God’s grace and self-disclosure to the world. Luke’s Gospel carries this theme of empowerment and equality forward with the list of women that funded the mission of Jesus next to the list of his first disciples (Luke, chapter 8). In almost every passage with parables, Luke has a woman and a man as the focus of Jesus’ illustrative teaching (see Luke, chapter 15). And in all the gospels, women are the first to see the Risen Christ and share the good news.
Forever Thankful
Thanksgiving is the purest, least commercial holiday on the USA calendar (though the encroachment of retail sales to Thursday is disturbing). It reflects four universal human experiences: First, gratitude for a harvest that sustains life for another year. Second, the centrality of shared meals: whether fancy or simple, there is something special about the table with family and friends. Third, a hospitable welcome for people of all cultures. From Squanto to an exchange student, mutual love and respect grows around the table. And fourth, our need to thank the Almighty and celebrate the bounty provided for our flourishing.