Nativity – Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings

The Gospel story is old but it is always new.

It is hard to share an image of that first Nativity. This year I leave an empty square for you to imagine Bethlehem Square in whatever way you choose. I am still haunted by my one and only visit to Bethlehem. Israeli soldiers boarded our bus as we approached the city of Bethlehem to checkContinue reading “The Gospel story is old but it is always new.”

Struggle of Waiting!

We struggle to wait, whether that be in a shopping line, a ticket line, at a bus or train stop, even at a red light! When everything seems so instant waiting for the tea kettle to boil can be a struggle. Advent is a season of preparation and hopeful waiting. Today, I share with youContinue reading “Struggle of Waiting!”

ADVENT

Advent – a time of waiting. We often think it is us who do all the waiting, but perhaps it is God who is waiting for us to come to our proper sense of soul and it is God waiting for our prodigal return. I wonder! On the subject of Advent and Waiting, James K.Continue reading “ADVENT”

“Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,”

Bethlehem, in the West Bank, remains a difficult place to get to. I recall being searched by armed Israeli police and having my passport scrutinized before being allowed to proceed to the Church of the Nativity. The photo above shows not a manger but a chaotic presence of a border wall which surrounds Bethlehem. ThisContinue reading ““Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,””

Emptying

The spontaneous ceasefire on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914 came about as British, Belgian, and French soldiers put down their weapons and climbed out of their trenches and joined with German soldiers singing Silent Night Holy Night! A moment of palpable peace in the madness of war, a glimmer of grace amidst the gruesomeContinue reading “Emptying”

Divine Arriving – Divine Waiting?

Advent – a time of waiting. We often think it is us who do all the waiting, but perhaps it is God who is waiting for us to come to our proper sense of soul and it is God waiting for our prodigal return. I wonder? James K. A. Smith who edits the journal ImageContinue reading “Divine Arriving – Divine Waiting?”

Waiting!

In the Christian calendar December 3rd marks the first Sunday of Advent. This is a season of preparation , a season of waiting, a season of hoping, a season of expectation. Today in our war torn world many people and nations wait, hope and expect something better than the present. Those of us in theContinue reading “Waiting!”