Whenever I watch the little drummer boy, I don’t stand a chance. I’ve cried every single time I have seen it as far back into my childhood as I can remember. I tried to be strong. I vividly remember that awful literal lump in my throat. But at least one tear always snuck out. That is because It is an extraordinarily beautiful tale.
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29 Days of Hope: Day 15, Pink is the New You.
In contrast to American Christmas traditions, for Christians, Advent is a season of repentance, or paring down, making room. It might seem like a bummer to have to dial back when all of the holiday festivities are just winding up. But there is a rhythm to this madness that has made Advent my favorite times of year and it has a lot to do with the color pink.
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29 Days of Hope: Day 14, The Beginning is Near!
Apocalypse. We live in apocalyptic times. The earth has a fever. The hemispheres have grudges. The Hatfields are back to hating the McCoys. Everything is “occupied.” Our rivers have dried. Our streets have flooded. Our earth has shaken and given way. Tea parties are more likely to have guns than cucumber sandwiches and if there wasn’t already a class/holiday/drug war, we sure seem like we want there to be one. It all seems apocalyptic and we may be right about that, but things are far from over…
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29 Days of Hope, Day 13: I can hold it for you.
Day 13: I will hold it for you. Perhaps some of the best news of hope is that when you lose it, I can hold it for you. Let me know when you need some. Funny How when you ask for it, it multiplies and I have more too. None us us can sustain a perfect anything. But hope is a collective virtue and the vary nature of it is that it is not sustained by me alone.
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The Five Ironies of Hope
For the full 29 days you can go here. 5 Five Lessons from Advent: 1) Hope is as much about the past as the future. Looking backward to the story of what has happened so far, and learning to do that well, is a a practice of keeping hope. Hope isn’t always a surprise, especially where you know where to look. 2) Hope is not optimism. Having hope doesn’t mean everything will go like we want to. It means we are going to be ok and the story will keep moving forward even if it all falls apart. 3) Hope is not a choice. Hope for St Thomas…
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29 Days of Hope: Day 10 Saint Nicholas’ Can of Spray Paint.
Today is the feast of St Nicholas. The human who gave rise to many legends that have become, among other things, Santa Claus. What the legends of St Nicholas have in common are both a compassion for the poor and a wit of execution. The Old St Nick, apparently had a knack for cleverly executed charity, sometimes with a little cheek. Sneaking gold dowries to the daughters off a poor man though an opened window, or more famously leaving gifts of one kind or another in stockings or shoes of those who needed them most was entirely his style.
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29 Days of Hope: Day 9, The Gift of the Mad Guy.
“Allan” greeted me at the door with an enthusiasm that frankly would have scared me if it hadn’t made me so happy to be alive. He was in his late fifties 6’3″ thin like a coat rack with a smile that made his eyes disappear. This time of year I can only think to call him jolly. Allan has a unique way of lighting up a place. It was hard for me to believe that he was anything other than a ray of light, but he once was something else, which only makes his story that much more beautiful…
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29 Days of Hope: Day 8 – How Two Tootsie Rolls Made Meeting Mother Teresa No Big Deal
I lived for three months in Calcutta, India with the purpose of working with Mother Teresa. She is after all a really big deal. And so is Ganesh, for one small act he did for me changed me more meeting Mother Teresa.
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29 Days of Hope: What Forgiveness Refuses.
Last night I saw a friend again that I have not seen for awhile. I was nervous about seeing him because of how we last left each other. What I left knowing is that we both desired our friendship more than we desired to look backward and be right. We forgave.
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Stanley Hauerwas and Children and the Reign of God.
“Jesus called to himself a child – the essence of one who is powerless, dependent, needy, little, and poor. He placed the child ‘in the midst of them,’ as a concrete, visible sacrament of how the Kingdom looks. Jesus’ act with the child is interesting. In many of our modern, sophisticated congregations, children are often viewed as distractions. We tolerate children only to the extent they promise to become “adults” like us. Adult members sometimes complain they cannot pay attention to the sermon, they cannot listen to the beautiful music, when fidgety children are beside them in the pews. “Send them away,” many adults say. Create “Children’s Church” so these…
