ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 30, 2023As you have heard, this Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Often, by November 30, we are already into the Season of Advent, but the way the calendar fell this year, it is actually the latest possible start date for Advent. With tomorrow being the first day of December and with every store in full Christmas mode, I feel as if we should already
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 29, 2023Today is the feast day of St. Illuminata, a 4th-century woman who was executed after taking the name of Christ. It is interesting that we know very little about her, though there is a church with her name in Todi, Italy, the presumed site of her burial plot. As I think of all the churches named after someone, I realize how almost all of these
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 28, 2023So what is this Advent thing? Simply put, Advent is the four weeks of preparation that help make the church ready to receive the Christ Child anew. And like the word suggests, it is a time when the church waits with great expectation for the “arrival” of a baby in Bethlehem. Even nonliturgical churches have found themselves practicing the Season of Advent in recent years.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 27, 2023Prayer for the Week: As we pause between Thanksgiving and Advent, we acknowledge a growing gratitude that anticipates the gift of the Christ Child. Holy God, O Wonderful Counselor, we give you thanks for this time of the year. In ever-so-small ways, peace and hope appear to be more resilient and pervasive. When we pause and pay attention, you seem to be made real in
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 26, 2023Today, we conclude our series on Gratitude. Let me be clear—it is ONLY this worship series that is concluding. My expectation is that your gratitude not only continues, but maybe you’ve found some different ways of thinking about it and approaching it. Let me offer you some thoughts from Psalm 30, specifically the first few verses: I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 25, 2023Tomorrow, we will spend an additional day focusing on gratitude, specifically its connection to grace. But before we jump there, I am drawn to some words I read in a recent Sojourner Email Blast, where they quoted Diana Butler Bass (from her book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving). There, we find the words: Gratitude is, however, more than just an emotion. It is also
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 24, 2023On this post-Turkey Day, I want to double down on my need for an attitude of gratitude. I’m not suggesting that people believe Thanksgiving is the only day for us to express gratitude. Far from it! But I wonder if we need to look at societal rituals, such as a day of gratitude, as an intense training session. I think about Lamentations 3:22–23: “Certainly the
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 23, 2023In my research preparing for this current two-week series on gratitude, one of my takeaways was the connection between gratitude and self-esteem. It came up often, and though it appears as if the studies have been relatively small on this subject, the connection seems rather obvious. For instance, when we take the time to give thanks to someone who has been kind to us or
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 22, 2023When Paul tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (I Thessalonians 5:18), it is important to recognize how he did not say for us to give thanks “for” every circumstance. I hope you see the difference—“in” vs. “for.” To be thankful in all circumstances does not mean you like the circumstances. In fact, you can hate them. But like you, I have known some
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSNovember 21, 2023In Sunday’s worship services, I mentioned how I planned to offer a few more thoughts on gratitude in my Etchings, specifically gratitude practices. It’s interesting to me how we use the word “practice” in describing this. The need for practice assumes that a skill set is not yet at its best. When it comes to the idea of living a life of gratitude, I am