The festival day is at hand, yet the Church would have us linger longer in Advent, contemplating all that God the Father has done to foretell and prepare the arrival of “Yeshua” (“the one who delivers”) into the world. In Advent 4, Year B, the assigned Gospel reading from Luke 1:26-38 relates the narrative of…
The Good Grief of Advent: Living in the Longing
For some, happiness is very elusive this time of year. Therefore, it’s appropriate that Advent is here to give voice to our melancholy.
Today in the Spirit: Advent 3B
It is the Advent 3B selection of readings that really puts the joy in “Joy Sunday.” All four readings include either an explicit exhortation for God’s people to rejoice in the Lord or a testimony of joy from the narrator’s heart. Since all that Mark has to say about John the Baptist before Jesus’ arrival…
The True Story of Santa Claus
Is Santa real? Yes, he is, and his true story involves a 4th-century bishop, a 19th-century Anglican, liturgical vestments, and an altercation with a heretic. The true story is so fabulous that only the kids would believe it!
Today in the Spirit: Advent 2B
Like many of our favorite movies, Advent 2 takes us, suddenly, to a flashback in time from the noise and upheaval of the Son of Man coming on the clouds to the silence of the Judean wilderness and the sight of a strange man dwelling there. In the Gospel of Mark, though it is shorter…
Today in the Spirit: Advent 1B
Happy New Year, Saints! We return to what the Church calls the Incarnation Cycle in the Sunday lectionary. In Year B of the three-year cycle, we embark this Sunday on the second of three pilgrimages, walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, this time with the Gospel of Mark as our main guide. Having heard…
The Book of Judith, the Jewish People, and the Advent of the Messiah
This is the fourth part of Dr. Noll’s series, “Reading and Enjoying the Apocrypha.” The Daily Office readings for November (BCP page 760) insert ten days of readings from The Book of Judith, from the Apocrypha. This book picks up themes from the Books of Maccabees, which I reviewed earlier, and adds some gender balance…
The O Antiphons (The Liturgical Home)
The “O Antiphons” are a beatiful tradition going back 1,300 years. They are scripturally-based prayers focusing on the titles given to Christ in scripture.
The Liturgical Home: An Advent Bidding Prayer
The season of Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, a time set aside when Christians around the world prepare their hearts for the coming of Christ. Advent is all about slowing down, waiting, and longing for the fulfillment of God’s purposes. The season of Advent was anything but those things for a young mom with…
Parish Project: Making Advent Wreaths
Advent is a perfect season to connect church and home. Here are ideas for making Advent wreaths together at church, together with ways to use them at home. Why Advent Wreaths? The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, both the first and…
Advent: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Advent is the first season of the Church year. It lasts for four weeks leading up to Christmas Day on December 25. “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming or arrival.” Used by the Church, the word refers to two things. First, it speaks of Jesus Christ’s appearance at his birth on the first…
St. Mary the Virgin: Reflections from a Former Evangelical
As someone who grew up evangelical Protestant, I always viewed the doctrinal distinctives of the Church of Rome with suspicion. To me, one of the stranger elements of Roman piety and practice was devotion to the Virgin Mary. I always believed Mary was important and special. She miraculously conceived our Lord, after all! However, because…
