Thursday, December 13th: The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realisation in our day-to-day lives. Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises. Every time we forgive our neighbor, every time we …
Energizing Visions…
Wednesday, December 12th: Are the great visions of the ultimate peace among all people and the ultimate harmony of all creation just utopian fairy tales? No, they are not! They correspond to the deepest longings of the human heart and point to the truth waiting to be revealed beyond all lies and deceptions. These visions nurture our souls and strengthen …
A New Heaven and a New Earth…
Tuesday, December 11th: Long before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah had a vision of Christ’s great unifying work of salvation. Many years after Jesus died, John, the beloved disciple, had another but similar vision: He saw a new heaven and a new earth. All of creation had been transformed, dressed with immortality to be the perfect bride of Christ. …
The Peaceable Kingdom…
Monday, December 10th: All of creation belongs together in the arms of its Creator. The final vision is that not only will all men and women recognise that they are brothers and sisters called to live in unity but all members of God’s creation will come together in complete harmony. Jesus the Christ came to realise that vision. Long before …
Something Hardly Noticeable…
Sunday, December 9th: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. – Isaiah 11:1-2 These words from last night’s liturgy have stayed with me during the day. Our salvation comes from something small, tender, and vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is …
The Renewal of the Whole Creation…
Saturday, December 8th: Our final homecoming involves not just ourselves and our fellow human beings but all of creation. The full freedom of the children of God is to be shared by the whole earth, and our complete renewal in the resurrection includes the renewal of the universe. That is the great vision of God’s redeeming work through Christ. Paul …
Restored to Eternal Life…
Friday, December 7th: One thing we know for sure about our God: Our God is a God of the living, not of the dead. God is life. God is love. God is beauty. God is goodness. God is truth. God doesn’t want us to die. God wants us to live. Our God, who loves us from eternity to eternity, wants …
Waiting artistically…
Thursday, December 6th… TRY INNOVATING AND ENGAGE THE ARTIST WITHIN YOU Becoming reflective and broadening our capacity to see and feel more is difficult because culture does script us to such a high degree. To break out of these scripts we need to engage the arts and our own artistic impulses. Artists learn to expand themselves—to see more, to feel …
Waiting Patiently…
Wednesday, December 5th: “We live in an age of instant answers; we want the Lord to reveal God’s plan for us immediately in response to our prayers. The psalmist suggests just the opposite. The psalmist speaks of waiting on God: “I waited patiently for the Lord.” The psalmist, like many of us, was probably not very good at waiting. The …
Death, a New Birth…
Monday, December 3rd: There comes a time in all our lives when we must prepare for death. When we become old, get seriously ill, or are in great danger, we can’t be preoccupied simply with the question of how to get better unless “getting better” means moving on to a life beyond our death. In our culture, which in so …