Jesus, of course, is an incarnation of God, an event I can barely even think about because my brain is not big enough. What an amazing thing that God became one of us. It’s astounding. It’s impossible to grasp. That is why we observe it mainly with silence, in the dark.
Joseph had to be a strong man, a good man, and one who put the well-being of others before himself. I am sure Jesus did not learn everything he had to learn from some supernatural force like angels or visions or whatever. I am sure a lot of what he had to learn especially in his very young life came from his parents, both Mary and Joseph.
It is an easy thing look back at moments in history and say ‘I would never have done that.’ I would never have: owned people as slaves, driven indigenous people from their land, paid unfair wages, watched as neighbors were loaded in to trains to death camps, bought land and possessions dirt cheap from people forced to sell because the government decided they were the enemy based on fear rather than evidence.
St. John of the Cross knew that the dark night of the Soul is a period that marks the beginning of transformation. The bleakest times hold that promise, even when we can get nowhere near it intellectually or emotionally.
…first-century readers would have been so struck by the scandalous-ness of the gospels and by their confrontation with the power claims of the Empire, that the gospels would have been banned books of the highest order. It should not be surprising that so many first-century Christians were killed by the Romans.
I’m tired of waiting. Of wanting peace. Of wishing for justice. Of longing for an end to violence. I’m tired of waiting. Just come, Lord, Jesus. Now. I’m ready.
Advent is about waiting. We are learning to be patient. We are learning the difference between being nice and being in God’s love.
…what sort of person ought you to be?
The sound of the choir of men and boys, the words of the scriptures leading up to the birth of Jesus, all the sounds echoing off the vaulted arches of a historic place – it’s the most wonderful thing I can think of.
Yes, it means the banquet is going to be louder and more raucous, but unlike the fake peace that is simply the absence of conflict, the potential to share and experience the love of Christ and the true peace of Christ is absolutely alluring.