The first eighteen verses of the Gospel of John are certainly well-known—“In the beginning was the Word.” But this passage can seem too floaty, too esoteric, too obscure, abstract, and idealized. It’s poetry, yes, but it’s not particularly helpful poetry, and when we read the Bible, most of us like to gather some sort of…

I once watched a television program on the theoretical physicist, Richard Feynman. It was said that he had the finest mind since Einstein. He had worked on the Manhattan Project, taught at the California Institute of Technology, and as a final project, had served on the commission that investigated the Challenger disaster. The TV program…

Today we celebrate the first Sunday in the Octave of Christmas. Many of us see it as an anticlimax, a time of letdown after the Big Day, when we gather all the family and share all the gifts and eat all the food. Far too often, this is a day when “Sabbath” basically means that…

In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan,earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…snow had fallen, snow on snow,in the bleak mid-winter long, long ago. Some days seem darker than others. Some days seem colder. The shortest, darkest day of the year was only a few days ago. Although the days gradually lengthen…