Singing Along the Journey

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 10: Christmas Waits to be Born…Again

I have, over the years, come to the conclusion that there are two different Christmases -- the cultural Christmas, with its presents and parties and television specials, and the religious Christmas, that which springs from the life of the Church.  My time with the words of Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman have convinced me that there is a third, never-spoken-of Christmas, the one that knows no time or place, the one that waits to be born in you and me and in this world each and every day: Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes, And the heart consumes itself, if it would live, Where little children age before their…
Read More

Christmas 9: Light a Candle

If I had to guess, I would say that, if you are a person reading my words right now, you have seen one of the memes floating around the Internet-world this Christmas that featured quotations from Howard Thurman's work.  And I'll be honest -- it was just such a quotation that led me to  Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas and that led me to reflect on that work. And because of my fascination with what some might call a theology of light, it was today's focus of reflection that captured my spirit the most: I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 4: The Symbol of Christmas

Today, on the fourth day of Christmas, I'm continuing my walk through the season with Bruce Epperly's reflections on the work of Howard Thurman, published in The Work of Christmas.   So far, I have been completely on board with the program and unconcerned by the lack of reference to the lectionary texts I expected, but today the disconnect seems to bother me. Why?  Because today is the feast of the Holy Innocents, a time when we remember the children of Bethlehem who died in blind power's quest to stop this one particular child.  And today, as we sit with the knowledge that in our own world, innocent children are dying because…
Read More

Christmas 3: Learning to See Beauty

It might seem obvious to some, the idea of the beauty of the Christmas season.  But it is not.  And what is beautiful to one person -- the lights, the trees, and all the rest -- may in fact cause others to draw away.  One person's beauty, in this sense, can be another person's pain. The kind of beauty that writer Bruce Epperly talks about is not confined to 12 days in December and January. It is a deeper response to the gift of creation, rather than the celebration of the season. To use Howard Thurman's own words: The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which…
Read More

Christmas 1: Getting Started on the Journey

Merry Christmas, one and all.  You may have heard me say it before, but, Christmas is not a day.  Christmas is a season.  If you want to read more about that idea, you can do that here or here. This year, I have decided to follow my own advice (a rare occasion I might add), and focus on a practice of reflection and writing for these important days.  I cannot complain that others ignore these days if I myself do not engage them. As my guide on this journey, I have chosen Bruce Epperly's The Work of Christmas, his own reflective journey  spent in dialogue with the works of Howard Thurman,…
Read More

Pilgrim in place

No, I have not confused Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I'm referring to another kind of pilgrim. Today is the 12th Day of Christmas for those who observe such things.  I try, but somehow that observance becomes more difficult as the world begins its wind-up called "the new year."  People return to school and work, expectations start to rise, traffic patterns return to their pre-celebration insanity and winter settles in for the next few months of who-knows-what.  And here I sit in one of my favorite landscapes, looking out the window at the sunrise that will not stay long  because of a massive rain storm that is changing my plans for this…
Read More