Category: Devotions
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Endings and Beginnings
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none: Cut it down!…
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Go Tell It!
Psalm-in-Action Grab a friend and act out these words from Psalm 148 with the suggested motions or come up with your own! point both hands to the skyHallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise God in the heights. flap your angel wingsPraise the Lord, all you angels; sing praise, all you hosts of heaven.…
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The Childhood of Christ
“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the…
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The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
If St. Stephen’s martyrdom a couple of days ago was an unusual thing to celebrate, today’s readings about The Holy Innocents, those children Herod killed out of fear that his throne would be taken from him, are even more distressing. The story goes that Herod feared that Jesus was here to overturn Herod’s rule. In…
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Stephen, Deacon and Martyr
St. Stephen is recognized as one of the early martyrs of the church who prayed for his persecutors as he was stoned to death. At first glance this may seem to be a strange thing to celebrate so early in the Christmas season, but we are reminded of the storied history of the whole company…
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You Make All Things New
In his 2017 reflection for Christmas Day, Richard Rohr, revered theologian of the Franciscan order, shares some words about the old and new. Rohr writes: “Francis [of Assisi] was at once very traditional and entirely new in the ways of holiness. Franciscanism is not an iconoclastic dismissal of traditional Christian images, history, or culture, but…
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Serendipitous Joy
I am driving home from church this past Sunday, and as I make my way through the lower end of my neighborhood, I see what looks like checkerboards bouncing around down the street from me. As I get closer, I realize that the checkerboards are actually people … people who are all wearing identical pajamas…
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Moral Mondays in Advent
Moral Monday Post for Monday November 28, 2020 “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home…
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Giving Thanks for Unusual Blessings
I share the cover picture for this devotion with you, because many of you may not get to see it live, unless you … stop by the church in the next two weeks … and take the time to step into the sanctuary and put on the lights. The decorations are similar to previous years,…
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Grief Must Be Given Its Time
“I no longer comfort others with false cheer. In the hospital, where my encounters with patients are ever more distanced by sterile gloves, computer protocols, and the pressures of time, one way I can still be present is during their moments of grief. I don’t encourage anyone to move on, to replace, to remarry, or…
