And she wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them at the inn. (Lk. 2:7) I’d received a phone call from a distraught mother. Her 30-something daughter had disappeared. The mother feared that her daughter—let me call her Abby—could have committed suicide. A …
Month: December 2019
Jesus Born Again Anywhere
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. (Lk. 2:6-7) When my schedule permits, I visit some inmates in …
The Real Hope of Bethlehem
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem… While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. (Luke 2:4,6) While visiting the Holy Land I was very excited to see Bethlehem—the place where Mary and Joseph traveled, where Mary gave …
Too Good Not To Be True
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.’ (Luke 2: 13-14) One of the ways that some people get in the “spirit” of Christmas is to watch the old-time …
A Time and Place to Sing ‘Silent Night’
And the Word became flesh and lived among us… (Jn. 1:14) It was mid-December and my friends at the jail asked if I would bring them a Christmas songbook. The following week I brought one with several choices. They immediately began to argue over which one to sing first, until one guy said, “Stop wrangling. …
More Often Simply Laugh
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!’ (Num. 14:1-2) This past year I attended a Christmas Eve service at the church I …
What Jesus Knew
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (Jn. 8:6) The woman caught in adultery stands in the midst of the crowd ashamed of her actions and afraid for her life. The Pharisees are feverishly using that woman to set up Jesus. Many of the townspeople are gathered around with great curiosity, some …