Growing up, our porcelain nativity featured an angel with long flowing hair, suspended above the display on a tiny nail over the eave.  She held a banner proclaiming “peace on earth.” I thought about the angel reading Fred Craddock’s Commentary on Luke, which points out that there was no angelic glow around the manger.  The […]

Luke tells us how Zechariah, a lay priest, was leading evening prayers in the courtyard of the temple. Each evening, a single priest entered the sanctuary to light the incense offering. Alone in the sanctuary, suddenly an angel appeared to Zechariah who was overcome with fear.  15 months later in the Jerusalem mountains, shepherds were […]

Has this happened to you? Last week, I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for others to arrive when, through the bustle of clinking plates and spirited conversations at adjoining tables, the lyrics of the loudspeaker’s song slipped through the clatter. Leaning in to hear the lyrics I asked, “Did I just hear that? Is […]

In the preindustrial Biblical world, someone in the fuller trade spent hours agitating loosely woven wool fabric for hours in vats of ashes, clay, chalk, or urine. This work chemically treated the fabric making it fuller and knitting the weave tighter. The work was done by hand with the fuller either agitating the fabric with […]

Luke tells us that on Christmas Eve shepherds were in the fields around Jerusalem keeping watch over their flocks “when suddenly the glory of the Lord shone all around them.” That image “the glory of the Lord shining all around them” has gripped me since I was a child. I used to experiment with lighting, […]

Ten hours earlier, I tied a Sunday bow tie, slipped on a jacket and headed to church. Driving home, I pulled the knot free and stepped back into our house with an unexpected joy. Gentle laughter rippled around my soul as I shared the details of our All Saints vespers service at the Blakeford Independent […]

Over three thousand years ago, Hannah lived in Israel. In Hebrew, Hannah means God’s grace. Every year, Hannah made a pilgrimage to worship at the shrine at Shiloh with all her aunts, uncles, cousins, and family. They all brought their tithes, offerings, and pledge cards to God. During the festival week they worshipped, barbecued, danced, […]

Israel’s royal editors helped shape the double volumes of Samuel and Kings. We see this in 1 Kings 15:23 along with words about King Asa’s foot disease. These histories of Israel’s prophets and kings begin with Hannah. (Full Stop)  In Hebrew, “Hannah” means favor or grace. Hannah Grace launches a resurgent prophetic movement, not just […]

Struggling with the Scriptures, some thirty years ago I found myself in a crisis of faith, or was it an awakening to faith? As we looked for a new church, Connie needled me to “just visit” a Methodist church. I quipped, “We will go; I’ll hate it, and that will be that!” Spiritual growth takes […]

A few weeks ago, I camped out on the farm my grandparents purchased a hundred years ago. I awoke before daylight. Overnight, a heavy dew had settled over everything. As I stuck my head out of the rainfly, dew pooled on the flap and baptized the back of my neck. A ghostly fog rose from […]