I’m not just resolving to “be healthy”, I’m resolving some specific things: to buy organic food whenever possible, to buy local food whenever possible, to eat my five servings of fruits and veggies daily, and to exercise at least three times a week. So far so good, but now—what about my spiritual health? Doesn’t it require just as much nurture as my physical health?
Matthew’s gospel, whence the story comes, identifies the Magi by a plural designation only. And this plurality permits Christian interpretation in art and tradition to reflect the fundamental ambiguity of the text: the masculine Greek plural “magoi” means only that the Magi are plural in number and that one of that number is a man. There might have been three or four or a hundred Magi at Jesus’ birth.
Dreams are a form of chaos … and one would think that Joseph’s dream would reflect in some distorted and frightening way the chaos of his own life—a young woman pregnant, and not by him; the fear of public disgrace; a need to keep everything quiet; the urge to hide his shame in a darkened room, devising paltry mousetraps to ward off the Evil One. And yet, in the midst of chaos comes this startling dream.
Rowan Williams draws on the writings of St. John of the Cross in his Christmas sermon: And the angels sing at the wedding in Bethlehem, the marriage of heaven and earth, where, in the haunting final stanza of the great poetic sequence, humanity senses the joy of God himself, and the only one in the scene who is weeping is the child, the child who is God in the flesh:
Canon Jim Rosenthal’s alter ego is the star of this You Tube video filmed on Saint Nicholas Day in Canterbury. Rowan Williams has a supporting
The leaders of the Anglican Communion are releasing Christmas messages, and you can read them here. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of the Episcopal Church
So you thought American Idol contestants were under a lot of pressure. How would you like to be in the pulpit on Christmas Eve? Hundreds
This four-piece S’mores nativity set includes S’more Mary wearing a blue head piece with her arms outstretched welcoming the new S’more King lying in the manger. Joseph stands back observing the scene before him traditionally dressed in a green head piece and holding his staff. The 5.5” S’mores nativity crèche makes a magnificent backdrop for this display.
All the commercial hype, the earlier timetable for decorating and the passion to engage with that “jolly old elf” is rooted in our understanding that we are being buffeted by changes. Whether we are looking at the Iraq war, the falling dollar, foreclosures, global warming or the horribly complex instability of the Middle East, there is a question on everyone’s mind. What will the future look like?
Two items, plucked from the blogosphere to help you contemplate the Christmas season: At Telling Secrets, Elizabeth Kaeton has written about a deeply moving moment in her ministry, and from our own back pages, comes a clear-eyed poem on the Incarnation from the late Denise Levertov.