John 1:29-42 I always find it fascinating how memory works — just what it is that can take us back in time in a heartbeat. This was so for me a few days ago. I bent down to pull on my winter boots. They have been especially well used this season between heavy snowfall and frigid …
Jesus — Who Simply Stood With Sinners
Matthew 3:13-17 I stopped at the County Court House the other day. I don’t go there often — as evidenced by my trying to get in through the exit doors. I quickly discovered that they had changed the entrance to another location where there is more room for the necessary security screening. Indeed, somehow I had forgotten …
A New Year’s Reflection
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) When my sisters and I were young, every year on New Year’s Day, my dad would bundle up against the cold and head into our back yard and prune the grape vines. It was a task he …
“And Pitched A Tent Among Us…”
John 1:1-18 There is so much that captures our imaginations in this wonderful poetry found in John’s first chapter. Indeed, one might find oneself reflecting on the similarity of these opening words to that of Genesis 1 where both writers weave poetry about ‘beginnings.’ One could stand still in the marvelous contrast between light and darkness. …
Christmas Reunion
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared…” I am captured by it every single time. I can have the news on for background noise only, and every time I find myself rushing back into the room or turning towards the screen so as to catch the sight of a dad or mom kneeling down to …
Christmas in the Barn
Luke 2:1-20 I have friends who have done this for years — gathering in a barn on Christmas Eve — with bales of straw and battery operated candles and more people than room and a few animals to make it seem especially real. I’d thought about it in other years in other places, but existing …
Just What a Dad Does…
Matthew 1:18-25 I carry still a memory of my dad which goes back close to fifty years now. It was early December. I was five years old and I was suddenly ill and my mother called him home from work to take me to the hospital. Now I was the oldest of four children. I …
The Blind Receive Their Sight
Matthew 11:2-11 For me, at least, there is no more appealing image of John the Baptist than the one before us now. The John we meet preaching in the wilderness always strikes me as almost abrasive in his certainty. And while I could probably stand to be more like John in that way, I have …
Get Ready!
Matthew 3:1-12 I was late arriving at the hospital yesterday morning — my first day back from vacation. When I stepped into the waiting room to catch up with the family I was greeted with the words, “You’re just in time.” I had seen the signs posted downstairs about the drill, but in my rush …
The Wolf and the Lamb
Isaiah 11:1-10 A while back I was with a family and friends at a local restaurant. We had gathered for lunch after a late morning cemetery committal. Sitting at my end of the table were Ken’s widow, her cousin from California, a co-worker and friend, and another long time friend of the family. The conversation was more …