Advent and Christmas is the season of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Over recent years her significance is being appreciated more and more, as we become more aware of the role of women in the Scriptures, and in the history of our salvation. St. Luke provides most of the material about the women in the life and ministry of Jesus.
Read moreI believe that Jesus Christ comes to us as a baby, as he was in Bethlehem, and therefore in all babies. He comes to us as a child, as he was in Nazareth, and therefore in all children. He comes to us as a loved one, as he was to his friends, and in all loved ones. He comes to us as a stranger, as he was to the Samaritan woman at the well, and in all strangers. He comes to us in the needy, as he asked her for a drink of water. He comes to us in the poor, as he had nowhere to lay his head.
Read more"A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest –
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:10)
This was why I was dissatisfied with my sermon on contentment. I realized that I am not generally content. I am not always satisfied with who I am, or what I am doing. I am not always satisfied with the world in which I find myself. Yes, I enjoy what I do. Yes, I am happy in my marriage and family life. Yes, I look forward to most days. Yes, usually I am content in my job and my stage in life.
Read moreAt the Last Supper, after Judas had left the room to betray him, Jesus prayed. In his prayer he gave us an insight into his understanding of the significance of his life, and by so doing he gave us an understanding of the significance of our lives as well.. William Temple writes that John 17 is perhaps, "the most sacred passage even in the four Gospels - the record of the Lord's prayer of self-dedication as it lived in the memory and imagination of His most intimate friend."
Read moreThat is why many people want to become famous - so that they will be remembered. That is why buildings, and scholarships, and bridges, and parks, and roads, and lakes, and mountains, and schools are named for someone - so they will be remembered.
Read moreContentment was a virtue to be prized in the ancient world. In the moral philosophy of Stoicism the ability to be content became the essence of all virtues. One was content when one lived according to that which suited one's nature. Stoics prided themselves in becoming independent of things and relying on themselves or in submitting to the lot meted out by the gods. However such a philosophy required education and affluence. It was made famous by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Read moreJohn Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached a wealth of words about money. Wesley made enormous sums from the sale of his writings. In an age when a single man could live comfortably on $60 a year, his annual income reached $2,800. As a child Wesley had known grinding poverty. Samuel Wesley, his father, was the Anglican rector in one of England's lowest paying parishes, and he had nine children to feed and clothe.
Read more"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set." (Genesis 28:10,11) Jacob was on a journey, seeking a wife, and the blessing that God had given Abraham. He reached a 'certain place.' We have reached a certain place in our lives. We have stopped here because the day is ending. Most of us have reached a certain time in our lives, when we are of a certain age.
Read more"Not for me - not yet. Not much," I said. "But my small happiness and small unhappiness - that's all irrelevant,' I continued.
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