Daily Reading

Matthew 2:1-12 >

When you live in a city, with all of its street lights, you can forget to look at the stars. The ancient world, innocent of streetlights, never forgot the night sky. Many people, particularly to the east of Palestine, had developed the study of the stars and the planets to a fine art. Any remarkable event among the s ...

Daily Reading

Luke 2:8-20 >

When the angel of the Lord came to announce the birth of Jesus, people were terrified. And perhaps, we are, too. When the supernatural breaks into the natural, it is terrifying. When God impedes on our plans and projects, it strikes fear in us. And sometimes, we'd like to tell Him to get lost - we've got life under co ...

Daily Reading

Luke 2:1-7 >

Luke tells the familiar story of the birth of this baby that was promised from the beginning. Odd, isn't it, that at this very point in history something so seemingly ordinary as a baby born to a young woman happens at a certain time and in a specific place while life around goes on as usual: There's a specific emperor, t ...

Daily Reading

Matthew 1:22-25 >

Maybe there's a reason Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus is normally (around Christmas anyway) overlooked in favor of the account recorded in the Gospel of Luke: it's much less fun. Mostly, Matthew presents a rather dry, matter-of-fact explanation of how an out-of-wedlock pregnancy was still able to be kosher. ...

Daily Reading

Matthew 2:1-12 >

One sign, a star...two responses. Upon seeing the star, the Magi set out in search of what they had long awaited. the King of Jews. Upon hearing the news, King Herod is filled with fear and begins to strategize. The contrast between the two are stark. One responds in humility, the other pride. The truth of who this ch ...

Daily Reading

Psalm 117 >

Once upon a time... words inviting us into a world teeming with possibilities and the promise of true love. Children gravitate to these stories as their beliefs allow for the essential elements of these stories: good vs. evil, happy endings and forever after. As adults, we tend to veer away as life has taught us is that "happ ...

Daily Reading

Matthew 1:18-21 >

One of the great privileges of parenting begins before the child is born, as they (often) agonize for months on what to name their child.  If they find out the gender, they can narrow down their choices, but still the burden can feel overwhelming.  But as the time draws near, a preferable name is chosen, and fro ...