Tomorrow is the Feast of the Holy Innocents on the liturgical calendar, the day that commemorates King Herod’s ordering the slaughter of the male children under two years old in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the newborn Messiah who was rumored to have been born there. I have written about this gruesome part of the New Testament narrative before, focusing on the text from the haunting medieval “Coventry Carol”: Herod the king, in his raging, Charged he hath this... Read more
Christmas movies are a big deal at my house. Jeanne goes for the classics, such as “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Bishop’s Wife,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and (her favorite) “White Christmas.” Those are all fine (except “White Christmas,” which I can take or leave), but I tend to favor more recent ones, like “The Holiday,” ” Love Actually,” and (my favorite) “The Nativity Story.” Movies with Biblical themes were both attractive and problematic in my early years. We did... Read more
Three years ago I had the privilege of giving the Advent 4 sermon at Trinity Church in Pawtuxet RI. Here’s what I said. Many of you folks in the pews today are old enough to understand what I mean when I say that I grew up with the Beatles. They were an important part of the soundtrack of my youth. Now, “Alexa, play the Beatles!” is my most common command if I’m looking for music when home alone while reading,... Read more
In December of 1942, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a Christmas letter to a number of his friends, relatives, and colleagues—people with whom he had been involved for the previous decade in various escalating behind-the-scenes and increasingly dangerous attempts to undermine the rule of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. This letter has come to be known as “Ten Years After.” As his fellow conspirators waited to see if the latest of numerous attempts to assassinate the Fuhrer would finally be successful,... Read more
For many reasons, Advent is my favorite liturgical season. The “Postlude” of my forthcoming book tells one of my favorite Advent stories, which I tell below. I was raised in a version of Christianity that had no sense of the liturgical year. I have often described the landmarks of my Baptist youth as Christmas, Easter, and everything else. I knew nothing of Advent until my twenties, and loved its energy, its carols, its texts–it still is my favorite liturgical season... Read more
I’ve been steering away from politics here ever since last month’s election and intend to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Except for today. With the understanding that the incoming administration has put “doing something about immigration” at the top of its to do list, I am thinking today of a controversial nativity scene from five years ago. When Claremont (California) United Methodist Church unveiled its annual outdoor Nativity during that Advent season, it caused a stir that made... Read more
Herodotus is considered to be the first true historian in the contemporary sense of the word; historian or not, he’s a great story-teller. He records page after page of anecdotal tales about strange and distant lands, stories often based more on second-hand rumor than direct observation. Consider, for instance, his description of a certain Thracian tribe’s practices at the birth of a baby: When a baby is born the family sits round and mourns at the thought of the sufferings... Read more
The reading from the Jewish scriptures for last Sunday’s Second Sunday of Advent was from the prophet Malachi: But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire . . . and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. This text is set brilliantly to music in the early, Advent portion... Read more
I was saddened to hear a couple of days ago that Fr. Wilfred Thiesen died this past week at the age of 95. He was a son of Minnesota who spent the majority of his years as a member of the Benedictine community at Saint John’s Abbey on the campus of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He professed simple vows as a Benedictine monk in 1950, followed by final profession in 1953. Subsequently he completed divinity studies at St.... Read more
I was raised by a father who claimed to have regular conversations with God. My father regularly dropped phrases such as “God told me that . . .” or “The Lord said this to me . . .” into normal conversations. God seemed interested not only in what my father was reading or doing, but also gave him assistance when ordering breakfast at his favorite diner. This was disconcerting for someone who never heard God say anything at all. Was... Read more
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