The Bible readings for our Christmas liturgy start off by addressing “the people who walked in darkness.” Hey, that’s us. We’re the people who walk in darkness. We’re in darkness because of a pandemic which just won’t go away. We’re in darkness because of a national unwillingness to deal with endemic racism. We’re in darkness… Read More »

“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? … The LORD reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. ” God told David, I’ve got news for you, buddy. You don’t do for me, I do for you. There is a human… Read More »

Every parent echoes the words of the people at the birth of John the Baptist. “What, then, will this child be?” Unfortunately all to often the answer becomes: “He could have been a prophet but air pollution in the neighborhood gave him asthma so he could not speak with authority.” “She could have been a… Read More »

Mary celebrates the coming birth of the two boys, Jesus and John the Baptist, with a prayer that, in English, we call the Magnificat. It reminds us that the presence of God we see in these births changes the way we look at the world. God has cast down the mighty from their thrones and… Read More »

Mary set out and traveled … to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. The Visitation is portrayed in the Bible as an occasion of joy: two pregnant women rejoicing in the new life within them. How fitting it was to celebrate the moment in which they found… Read More »

The LORD spoke to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God … But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask!” Ahaz, the king, will not ask because he was, well, king. He was in charge. He wanted to do what he wanted to do. If he asked of God he would be showing… Read More »

There was an interesting news item this week about a soldier. The background: if you have flown in the past few years you have noticed that the airlines make a bit of a fuss over the members of the military. They go out of their way to thank them publically for their service and allow… Read More »

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Joseph, like his Old Testament namesake, was a dreamer. No doubt he dreamt about what it was going to be like to be a married man, to have a son, to raise a family.  That dream came crashing down on him when he found… Read More »

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. St. Matthew lists the genealogy of Jesus as a “son of Abraham” up to Joseph. But Jesus was only the adopted son of Joseph, not the natural son. In other words, Jesus’s identity as “son of… Read More »

The Pharisees and scholars of the law rejected the plan of God for them. You can be sure that the Pharisees and scholars saw things in the opposite way. They imagined that they were following the plan of God, not rejecting it. After all, didn’t they get their marching orders from the Bible! How can… Read More »