Read the Text It was just about midnight on Christmas Eve and everyone was commenting on what a beautiful service it had been – with joyful Christmas carols, the telling of the Christmas story, a wonderful message preached, and the glorious service of candle lighting and the singing of “Silent Night.” Everyone was happy. Everyone except Hazel. I was just a seminary student at the time and I don’t know why she picked me out to complain to, but Hazel caught up to me out in the narthex of this big Methodist Church. She got right up in my [READ MORE]

Read the Lectionary Texts Of all the characters in the Christmas story, my favorite is Mary's kinswoman Elizabeth. We are not sure whether she was Mary's aunt or cousin, but we do know that Elizabeth made a difference in the life of Mary: she saw through the apparent shame of what seemed to be an illegitimate pregnancy, and identified God at work in this young vulnerable girl. Elizabeth was one of those rare people who practice the art of embracing the holy. I often find myself wondering why the angelic birth announcement to Mary is immediately followed by the story [READ MORE]