One thing’s for sure: you’re going to have to get used to being a pest. You are only going to get through the next four years with your conscience intact, if you get over yourself and are willing to be a pest. When your country falls to Christian Nationalism, a Christian who realizes that Nationalism is heresy is obliged to be a pest. When people are acting as though a Caesar, any Caesar, a tsar or an emperor or... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ... Read more
The first two days of winter were brilliant, and then they weren’t anymore. The sparkling crystal and white thawed into mud, and the sky went cobblestone gray. The dreary neighborhood of LaBelle became drearier than ever, until it seemed the whole world was rust and sludge. And then Jimmy the Mechanic’s car broke down, for the hundredth time, and he didn’t have the money for parts right before Christmas. If there were any justice at all in the universe,... Read more
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come... Read more
The winter solstice dawned bright and cold. I woke up on the darkest day of the year, to the sparkling of snow on the ground and the sidewalk puddles frozen over. I’d wanted to drive out to the waterfall to see if there were any icicles, but I was so tired, I stayed home. Adrienne was done with school until January. We watched silly Christmas movies and chatted while we cleaned up my room. The second darkest day of the... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew: This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,... Read more
I think it’s been a good Advent. There’s little to write about my life just now, because so little drama has been going on. How often has that been the case? I can’t tell you a silly story about how everything went wrong, because things are going reasonably well. Adrienne has a few more days of public school, which she loves, and then there will be three weeks of break, which she also enjoys. Adrienne is at peace and growing... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that... Read more
Winter is a bleak time, but did you know it’s also lavish? We are one week out from the darkest time of year, but it’s been so wonderfully bright. On Thursday, I went out to the mineral spring, where I often go to pray, and the sun was not only brilliant overhead but also brilliant on all sides where the light caught the snow. It was brilliant all the way uphill, where the leafless trees didn’t filter out any... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said... Read more
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