Category: Christmas

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Dreams of Christmas

 

Christmas 2019

In 1942, the Hollywood musical Holiday Inn premiered, featuring two of the biggest stars of the time, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  Everyone who was involved with the movie thought that its song “Be Careful, That’s My Heart” would be the big musical moment.  How many of us remember that song? It was released as a single and did well. But it was the second single from the movie, released that fall, that would become its best-known moment.  A song that everyone making the movie liked but that no one thought of as very special.

White Christmas. Continue reading “Dreams of Christmas”

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The Threat of Vulnerability

Christmas 2018

Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about? – Charlie Brown

We Americans like to boast that we are the best country in the world, with the best of everything. We like to boast of our natural resources, our military, our traditions, and our power. We like public officials and celebrities who tickle our ears with such talk. We want to believe that, even now, we Americans stand astride the world like a Colossus – invincible, dominant, able to impose our will on everyone else. We are strong, we are great, we are the best.  We believe – or want very much to believe – all these things about ourselves. Continue reading “The Threat of Vulnerability”

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Christmas Signposts

Christmas 2017

With all due respect to the Fourth Sunday of Advent, I’m jumping ahead just a bit with this post in order to offer a reflection on Christmas.

Christmas. What can one say about Christmas that hasn’t been said “many times, many ways”, as the song reminds us? Then again, maybe one can. After all, we are dealing with two different Christmases in our culture, and have been for quite a long time.  Continue reading “Christmas Signposts”

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Waiting On God

Feast of the Epiphany

On Christmas, we heard the story of the birth of Jesus according to Luke. Bethlehem, we are told, was crowded at the time, like Bar Harbor in the summer. The visitors weren’t tourists (as we understand the term) but people who were descendants of David, there to register for the census. We can imagine the locals complaining about the folks “from away” (even as they appreciate the business), while the visitors may be complaining among themselves about the quality of their rooms or the meals or the service.  Continue reading “Waiting On God”

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Naming and Filing

January 2, 2017: John 1:19-28

Today’s Gospel reading begins with John (the Evangelist) telling us that he is about to give us the testimony of John (the Baptist) as to who Jesus is. John the Baptist, as the story begins, is in the midst of his ministry by the Jordan River. Even though this remote region was not easy to get to, people come to John every day to hear him and be baptized. Something about John rings true to them. Continue reading “Naming and Filing”