Wednesday, December 30, 2020 | Reflections
Camp Barnabas was a place I loved visiting as a child and young adult. A camp for disabled children and adults, Camp Barnabas was a place where many of us could feel relaxed and free to be ourselves, together with other disabled people. Some of us also served as staff...
Tuesday, December 29, 2020 | Reflections
Trying to be entirely blameless is exhausting. When we attempt this, we become unhappy and unable to accept failures or mistakes. We deceive ourselves into believing that we are something we are not—and can’t be. God knows we mess up. God gives the gift….(View...
Monday, December 28, 2020 | Reflections
Joseph’s mind must be in such a spin—weird dreams with angels and wise men and a new baby and more weird dreams with angels. He’s dealing with a lot of new information and a significant amount of pressure from all angles. Joseph does what parents all ….(View...
Sunday, December 27, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus revealed to the entire world how much God wants a relationship with us. Out of God’s own love, God became one of us. God’s love for us in Jesus is what makes our lives of faith possible—and impossibly, improbably good. ….(View this reading and more...
Saturday, December 26, 2020 | Reflections
In just two days, the lectionary has taken us from glad tidings flying from angels’ wings in Luke to wayward chicks being gathered under chickens’ wings in Matthew. Yesterday, Isaiah told us about the Prince of Peace and the establishment of the everlasting justice of...
Friday, December 25, 2020 | Reflections
Mary knew her baby would probably be born on the road, so she packed a bag for him. She didn’t know where he would be born, but she knew he would need something soft to keep him warm. My mother knew I was coming, too. Even though I couldn’t stay with her….(View...
Thursday, December 24, 2020 | Reflections
I have a small John the Baptist living across the street from me. He’s seven, and he loves his neighbors. He worries about us, too. One afternoon I was returning from running errands, and winter ice patches were still hiding under a blanket of white snow, even on our...
Wednesday, December 23, 2020 | Reflections
Throughout history, we read about unlikely people who rise to power and use their influence to divide and conquer. They exploit their authority as a way to oppress others. Love is not a factor in their power structure. Mary and everyone she knew had heard stories...
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 | Reflections
We spend Advent waiting for Jesus, but Elizabeth and Zechariah spent a good portion of the first Advent waiting on two babies—John and Jesus. We wait alongside them in today’s lesson from Luke. Despite the strange turn life had taken in their family and the world...
Monday, December 21, 2020 | Message from Bishop Thompson, Reflections
In my mind I’ve been playing over and over again the Christmas hymn, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” [1] The first stanza: In the bleak mid-winterFrosty wind made moan;Earth stood hard as iron,Water like a stone;Snow had fallen, snow on snow,In the bleak...
