Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 In spent an hour in a Covid-19 testing line the other day. Only an hour, give or take, because the community where I live is not especially large and we are fortunate to have a couple of such walk-up sites. Only an hour, although it took that long to find the place …
Tag: Luke
On Stars and a Borrowed Baby Jesus and Making Room
Luke 2:1-20 John 1:1-14 I sit to write on Christmas Eve, trying, and trying again as I have for days, to bring words to the meaning of this day. For myself, of course, yes, but also for those who will gather in a few short hours now. Last Christmas was almost unrecognizable for all that …
The Christmas Shepherds
Luke 2:1-20 It was going to be a quiet Saturday. I had planned to spend it in the kitchen baking and making toffee with Christmas carols accompanying me as I measured and stirred and kneaded. Only a text pinged at 7:30 and the phone rang again not much later with the news of first one …
And the Child Leaped for Joy…
Luke 1:39-55 As I sit down to write today, I realize that I began the experiment of this weekly writing in this format ten years ago this month. Such anniversaries seem worth acknowledging and as I do so, I would take a moment to thank you for walking alongside through this last decade as week …
Jesus Will Burn the Chaff Away: A Word of Promise
Luke 3:7-18 This old story comes to mind today as we hear John’s words about unproductive trees being thrown into the fire and being baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire and burning the chaff with unquenchable fire. This old story comes to mind as I consider first the damage that fire can do and …
Zechariah: No Longer Silent
Luke 1:68-79 I took this picture a few days back on an early morning walk. This image of the ‘dawn from on high’ is one that I cherish, whether I am up early enough and out in a place where I can actually see it or not. And yes, it is so that these words …
Because Your Redemption Is Drawing Near…
Luke 21:25-36 I expect this will be obvious to anyone who knows me well, but in terms of how I approach the world, my leaning is more toward ‘doing’ rather than to simply ‘being.’ Oh, this is not so when something goes radically wrong with my website, as it did this week. Then I call …
Just Another Day… Christmas This Year
Luke 2:1-20 I have shared this story of this particular Christmas Eve before in many times and places. For some reason, though, I am carrying it especially close this time around. Indeed, I have held this memory for so many seasons now that the edges of it are becoming blurry. Even so, there are pieces …
Here Am I
Luke 1:26-38 I am struck by this today — by the number of times we hear of God calling people to extraordinary things and of how many of them answer with the simplicity of Mary saying “Here am I” or “Here I am.” And I find myself wondering at how their stories paralleled hers and …
Walking Towards Emmaus, Walking Towards Home…
Luke 24:13-35 I took a walk this afternoon. A long one, like I used to take before the world turned upside down. I yearned for exactly what I found. The bracing wind, the sun on my face, the bright colors of spring flowers. I wanted so to be distracted from the heavy thoughts which mark …