Even if Professor William Tighe is correct and the Church was re-appropriating the date from the pagans (possible, but there were competing claims), the broader evangelical point made below remains valid. It even gains additional urgency: the Church needs to redefine the significance of December 25th away from its commercial and secular drift! – […]
Day Thirty-nine – Comfort
December 23, 2013 By
The most iconic image of the comfort is found in Psalm 22/23: “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” Those words bring to mind all the warm fuzzies of a mother’s hug and all the calm of a father’s protection. Psalm 22/23 is like the greatest spell; reading, singing, or chanting it provides immediate […]
Day Thirty-eight – Never
December 23, 2013 By
2 Timothy 3: 3-9 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more […]
Teaching the Divine Liturgy – Meditations
December 22, 2013 By
Here are my notes from the teaching Divine Liturgy served on 22 December 2013 Prologue: Please meet the love of my life…I was nervous the entire week leading up this “Teaching Liturgy.” It was hard to figure out why. After all, I’ve been here for more than six years. That’s hundreds of homilies. I […]
Day Thirty-seven – Candy Canes
December 21, 2013 By
I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a candy cane. I tried one once, and it was way too sweet. We have about a dozen of them in the house. We use them for tree ornaments. They are like family heirlooms; I’m pretty sure I got them from my mom. She probably got them from […]
Day Thirty-six – Hats
December 20, 2013 By
I was born and raised in Georgia. Growing up there, just about everyone wore baseball caps. It makes sense – they are really useful. They are the best hair-style, bar none. Why mess with your hair when you can just put a hat on and go? I should point out that there were some […]
Day Thirty-five – Strange Christmas Traditions from around the World
December 20, 2013 By
Today I got to pick up my oldest son, Nick from the airport. He’s an amazing young man; has a sound spiritual life, loves God, has a really strong allegorical mind, and is getting things done as a first year at the Air Force Academy. I love to read his stories. He writes really well […]
Day Thirty-four – Log Cabins
December 18, 2013 By
Have you ever heard of “thin places”? The idea is that there are places where the barrier between our world and another are so thin as to allow us to sense its presense. Mythology is full of stories about “normal people’ finding adventure (and often doom!) by slipping into places like fairyland and the […]
Day Thirty-three – Nog, Glog & Grog
December 17, 2013 By
Nog, Glog, and Grog are awesome words. They sound like the names Tolkien would haven given to a trio of orcs or each of the heads of a three-headed giant. Speaking of which, have you heard of an ettin? What’s neat about this kind of giant is that each of its heads has a […]
Day Thirty-two – Blogger’s Choice (Homily on Ephesians 4:1-6)
December 15, 2013 By
Homily on Ephesians 4:1-6 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just […]
