Jesus, you were born at Christmas,
like us, a child of God.
Born to a poor uneducated carpenter and his partner
All: Jesus was one with oppressed humankind
A baby cries…
and its cry commands our attention.
What does it need, how can we provide?
What does the New Testament tell us about Mary? Mark, the earliest gospel, did not include a birth narrative, so his mentions of Mary are vague and not very flattering. He says Jesus’ family (the family isn’t specified; does he mean Mary and Joseph or Mary and Jesus’ brothers?) attempted to restrain him because people were claiming he was out of his mind (Mark 3:21). If Mary was present, it seems strange that other gospel verses say she was visited by an angel who told her that she would conceive a special child or to whom Luke says shepherds came in wonder to visit her newborn child or to whom Matthew says wise men journeyed to bring gifts to welcome her wondrous child’s birth.
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My “musing” a few weeks ago focused on a 7-year old boy’s question: “What ideas do you have about how to stop the mean people?” Since seeing his question on a poster he made and placed on …
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We have developed a liturgy for use on Christmas Eve, drawing upon the inclusive and scriptural images/metaphors of light and wisdom.
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A beautifully illustrated story of the Nativity. He was just an ordinary donkey, but on his back he carried a miracle. He carried the Virgin Mary to Bethlehem on the night she gave birth. Along the way he dreamed he was carrying a city, a ship, a fountain, and a rose. He dreamed he was carrying a lady full of heaven–and he was. Barbara Helen Berger’s glowing artwork and lyrical text perfectly convey the beauty and majesty of the story of the Nativity
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I will light candles this Christmas.
Candles of joy, despite all sadness.
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.
During the holidays, giving to those in need, whether it is an extra can of food, a coat, or a new toy, is a wonderful thing. It is also a time to remember the pets who need …
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1. God is at hand. A babe is born;
Proclaimed to be ‘The Light’;
With every morn
New light brings dawn:
And God is seen anew;
And God is seen anew;
And God, and God is seen anew.
“‘God did it’ isn’t an explanation,” said Joseph.
He got no account for the baby’s chromosomes,
In his New Testament and Mythology, Bultmann claims that “modern man is convinced that the mythical view of the world is obsolete”, that “all our thinking today is shaped for good and ill by modern science”, “the miracles of the new testament have ceased to be miraculous”, and—astonishingly—that “the mythical view of the world must be accepted or rejected in its entirety”.
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How do you see the Holy Family? What do they look like? “Ordinary”?—what does that mean? Iconic? A nativity scene or an artist’s impression? Surrounded by shepherds and angels and animals, or isolated and on the run from Herod—or from dubious family members still unsure of Joseph’s wisdom in marrying Mary? Perhaps you see a pageant—a filmstrip of images one after the other, screening numerous family scenes and mythologies and narratives. Hold them in your mind’s eye…
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In Advent, we build the framework of Christmas
together we put up scaffolding
signalling something’s being renovated
something new is being created.
Come, let us walk the road that Mary walked
the challenging road
from Nazareth to Bethlehem
not knowing what the future holds.
An exploration in Christmas as a festival in popular culture and progressive Christianity, with an emphasis on Christmas cards, Carols by Candlelight, and Santa Claus. While the biblical infancy stories in Matthew and Luke are approached from a progressive Christianity perspective
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1. Christmas is a time for children,
Time for presents, fun and play.
Christmas is a time for children,
Let’s all be children on this Christmas Day.
1. Let’s live nativity;
let the manger shape our minds,
the baby touch our hearts,
the mother bless our flesh.
