on the Pilgrimage

This is, hands down, my favourite Christmas story. It was read to me and all who went to the Christmas service in my freshman year of college. Pastor Carl Lee (now passed) would read a few stories to the students. This one was my favourites. I'm not sure why, because it's not a particularly happy story. But somehow, it resonated with me. And it warmed my heart. And, through the years, I would read it to my students, too. For me, this is the Christmas story.  What follows is the version I remember from my college days. There are slight variations that Pastor Carl included. The original story is by Martin Bell. I hope you find the beauty in it that has found me.  Barrington Bunny   Once upon a time in a large forest there lived a very furry bunny. He had one lop ear, a tiny black nose, and unusually shiny eyes. His name was Barrington. Barrington was not really a very handsome bunny. He was brown and speckled and his ears didn’t stand up right. But he c...

Love - such an easy word to say, such a difficult way to live. I had a discussion with a friend yesterday and a few things came up. Among them included the unpacking of the following thoughts: (1) How atheists really do have this time of the year down perfect; they know it and do it the best. They know Christmas trees and decorations, they know Hallmark movies and packed shopping malls (or online ordering), they know how to do a family feast and they know giving, creating their mountains of gifts into credit cards of debt. (2) The Christmases of George Bailey are gone, the people like George Bailey are no more ... we honour liars and manipulators, we fill our media with 'fakery' and disingenuous behaviour and we set that on a pedestal of high respect and esteem. We select people to run our country, not by the quality of the person but by how popular they are, how good they look, how pretty they talk. The strength of the male is being erased and condemned to be replaced with th...

Gaudete Sunday - Rejoice! ... the Joy Candle. It's interesting that all three other candles can have slightly different meanings depending on where you look, but this one, this Third Sunday in Advent, is always the same - the Gaudete Candle. The text that comes with it is from Philippians 4, where the writer writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say Rejoice!". Find your joy in this relationship, in this connection. A joy that passes all understanding. I remember when my father passed. My brother told me that, at the end, he did not want to 'let go' until he knew that God's promises were true. He lived a Godly life, and still, at the end, he needed to know that that which he believed in all those years was true. I believe that truth was revealed to him upon his passing. Oh, what an experience to have that assurance now, in the midst of life's trials! Maybe that's what this candle is about. A way to give us, through the ages, that assurance...

Today, the reading was from Matthew, the story of John the Baptist. He was not a popular dude, as he probably smelled and looked quite shocking. Living in the desert and living on locusts and wild honey can do that to a person. Yet, it was him that was given the task of calling for people to repent, the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. People came to him, and he seemed to be of interest to the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, as he had quite the choice words for them! I wonder what John would say to us in the Church today? Would he be welcomed? Would they let him preach at the pulpit? Would he see how we are preparing for Christ's coming? Or maybe people would shun him, and he would point to us and call us a brood of vipers? I wonder what he'd say to those who think they know all the answers.  I wrote on my FB page today: I heard something about this time - it is about God coming towards us, always moving towards us, and never does God turn God's back on us. During this ...

Advent, as I was taught, is a time of anticipation, of preparation. For what? For the coming Christ - the baby incarnate and the Christ Godhead. Over the years, I've searched to enrich that understanding, ground it in history, and ignite it with more than a simple understanding. Today, I reflect back on the year, nearly gone. And the path my feet have taken me. I come to this point, this place, and I pause. Not only over the last year but the last life ... from birth to now. I read somewhere that Advent is divided into 4 Sundays - the first two, to look forward to Christ's ultimate coming, and the last two, to look back at the point in time when He became one with humanity. Maybe I can use that as a bit of a guide for my reflections over the next four weeks. Maybe I can anchor myself in those constructs, therein giving dimension to this time, of pausing, of meditation, of receiving. Let my heart be humbled and let me be open and sensitive to what is around me, both in spiri...