Tag Archives: advent

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matt 2:3) A few years ago I noticed a small detail in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth. When the wise men from the East come to Jerusalem and ask where the newborn king is, Matthew tells us that “When King HerodContinue reading “Advent, week 3: Joy.”

“The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.’” (Luke 1:31) Pregnancy is a scary time even in the modern world and under the best of circumstances. Imagine what it must have been like for Mary. For Mary there would be no epidural. There would be noContinue reading “Advent, week 2: Peace.”

“This is the genealogy of Jesus: the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1).   There is a common trope in action movies in which a main character has been seriously injured and appears to have died. The character lies motionless on the ground, while friends around him plead for himContinue reading “Advent, week 1: Hope.”