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 …
Tag: peace
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. …
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 …
Our Own Path to Faith
They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.’ (Jn. 4:42) The Samaritans had first believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. What exactly they believed about …
Turning Aside
Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.’ (Ex. 3:3) Today’s scripture is such a small moment that had such incredible outcomes. If Moses hadn’t turned aside and obeyed God’s calling out of the bush, the Hebrew people would have remained …
Our Time in Midian
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Ex. 3:1) For the first 40 years of his life Moses had been trained to be a commander of armies. For his next 40 years Moses …
Let the Little Children Come to Me
People were bringing little children to [Jesus] in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me…' (Mk. 10:13-14) David, a seminary classmate, and I were at a folk mass. As we …