Tag Archives: Incarnation

The Author Who Wrote Herself into the Story

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1915, Dorothy Sayers became one of the first women ever to graduate from prestigious Oxford University in England. Actually, she wasn’t given a degree.  That was a privilege granted only to men. Sayers finally received her sheepskin retroactively in 1920, when Oxford concluded that women might be worthy of academic accolades after all. … Read more »

Moving Into the Neighborhood

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To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Long-time residents of Chicago can still remember when their mayor moved into hell. Actually, Jane Byrne and her husband moved into the area on the Near North Side that had long been known as Little Hell.  That name went back to the 1850s, when Irish immigrants lived in dismal conditions near a gas refinery… Read more »

The Stuff of Life

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One hundred years ago, people were just coming to grips with a strange idea: Everything is made of atoms. The notion had been around for a very long time.  But all of a sudden a truckload of evidence emerged that it was really true.  Even though common sense would seem to shout otherwise, reality is composed of exceedingly tiny particles. … Read more »

Glory to God in the Lowest…and Highest

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It’s possible that more doctoral theses, exegetical studies, and heartfelt sermons have been centered on Philippians 2:5-11 than any other text in Scripture. That’s because the apostle Paul’s inspiring summary of the life of Jesus alludes, in the span of just seven verses, to the four most important days in human history:  Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and the Ascension.  No… Read more »

A Vulnerable Savior

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Throughout this season of Advent our focus is “The Story of Christmas in 20 Words.”  On each of the 20 weekday mornings ending on Christmas Eve, we’ll spotlight a single word from the Gospel accounts that helps us ponder more deeply the birth of Jesus. 12.  Child If the Greek gods had sought therapy, they would have kept an army… Read more »

Into Our Neighborhood

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Throughout this season of Advent our focus is “The Story of Christmas in 20 Words.”  On each of the 20 weekday mornings ending on Christmas Eve, we’ll spotlight a single word from the Gospel accounts that helps us ponder more deeply the birth of Jesus. 11.  Pitched-Tent Robert Frederick Chelsea “Bobby” Moore wasn’t just a famous English footballer (or what… Read more »

The Kiss of Love

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Bible commentator Dale Bruner, trying to describe “the deep grace of God for a flawed human race,” says there is one illustration that has helped him more than any other. It comes from Dr. Richard Selzer’s experience as a surgeon, as reported in his book Mortal Lessons.  Selzer writes: I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her… Read more »

Christmas Day

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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 all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the… Read more »

Mary, Did You Know?

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Not all of the best-loved Christmas songs are hundreds of years old. Mary, Did You Know? hasn’t yet celebrated its 30th birthday, but it’s already become something of a classic. Composer Buddy Greene and lyricist Mark Lowry – two members of the Gaither Vocal Band from Alexandria, Indiana – wrote this song for Michael English, who performed it on his… Read more »

What Child is This?

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Father Gregory Boyle is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, a widely acclaimed gang intervention program. It’s a ministry that involves considerable heartache.  As of 2017 and the release of his book Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, Boyle had presided at the funerals of 220 gang members, most of whom had died… Read more »