Seventh Day of Christmas: Doubt and Wonder

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now [...]

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Sixth Day of Christmas: The Word Dwelt Among Us

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in [...]

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Fifth Day of Christmas: Incarnation

We have had trouble potty-training JellyBean. She is three-years-old and now officially “toliet-training resistant,” according to our doctor. Last week she made big progress and finally pooped in the potty all by herself. There was much general rejoicing around here, and JellyBean, when congratulated, announced her inspiration: “Baby Jesus learned to go poo-poo in the [...]

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Fourth Day of Christmas: Born to Be Our Forgiveness

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 When I was twenty-years-old, there was a woman I hated. I hated her for the most basic of reasons: she was mean to my mother. My mother was [...]

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Third Day of Christmas: Mary’s Heartbreak

In all of history, only one child chose the mother to whom he would be born, and he chose her knowing that she would have to watch him die. Dorothy Parker, the caustic writer and poet of the Algonquin Round Table, once wrote a Christmas poem differing widely from her usual style. Prayer for a [...]

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