John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas got me laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe. It was the same with Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Days, which evoked such uncontrolled laughter that many in the New Year’s Day crowd at the Nassau airport…
The pain of advent
This is the second of a four-part series in which we seek to see anew the incarnation of Jesus through the eyes and body of a woman, Mary the mother of Jesus. For Jesus to become flesh, word incarnate,…
The blood of Advent
This is the first in a four-part series of Advent reflections by Julia Goldie Day that will run on Mondays. Ever hear the phrase, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman?” Jesus is the successful man; Mary is…
This Christmas, the Holy Spirit sounds like an oxygen machine to me
Don’t let my name fool you. One of my most redeeming qualities is being a realist, often named by others as pessimist. In the spirit of that title, or misplaced naming, I am unsure how I will stomach Christmas this…
Mary, Our Mother (For Baptists): Blessed is she
This is the final article in a four-part Advent series. One of my children asked me the other day, “What’s the big deal about access to birth control?” My answer was, “If your mother had not had access to birth…
How I am believing in the Christmas story this year
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23) It is a commonplace observation of mainstream historical-critical New Testament scholars…
A case for why Mary didn’t know
I have appreciated the recent writing of Julia Goldie Day. She speaks wise words, especially for the voiceless, the oppressed, those marginalized by our society. I read with interest her recent post about the now-popular Christmas song “Mary, Did You…
The Advent witness of Rosa Parks, Ita Ford, Alfred Delp and Antonio de Montesinos
Invocation — The Whole World Is Waiting, Kate Hurley The whole world is waiting, The whole world cries. The whole world is waiting For our hope to shine. For you sweet Jesus Will make all things right. The whole world…
How to use ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’ for daily reflection beginning Dec. 17
The season of Advent may present a challenge for worship planners whose congregations clamor to sing Christmas carols rather than Advent hymns. After all, our ears have been beset with Christmas music since October in retail stores, restaurants and on…