Today, the Fourth and final Sunday in this too-brief Advent, we finally meet her. The Queen of Heaven, Mother of all, Eternally Virginal, Luke’s first Apostle, Theotokos (literally God-bearer in Greek, a profound title conveyed by an early church council by which Orthodox Christians best know her), Madonna. For Anglicans,
Continue reading
The second of our Advent hymns is brought to you by the letter “O,” as in the well known O Come, O Come Emmanuel! I was shocked to discover the hidden gems of this Advent classic so beloved in Anglican hymnody. Emmanuel is easy, simply a direct transliteration of the
Continue reading
Yesterday we met fiery John the Baptizer, calling 1st century Judaism to radical repentance to prepare for the coming of Messiah. John used baptism reinterpreted as God’s vehicle to obliterate sin as his primary strategy to effect that repentance. And John always spoke truth to power, and as usual, power
Continue reading
It’s time to meet the first of our two constitutive Advent figures! Dear readers, may I introduce you to John the Baptizer, the enigmatic 1st century Jewish seer who singlehandedly resuscitated the great Jewish prophetic tradition from its near hibernation. John’s apocalyptic (does anyone remember this term from our Lenten/Holy
Continue reading
Dear Transfiguration Parish Family and many Friends, After prayerful discernment, we are amending our normal Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and 12th Night Epiphany worship schedule. Given extensive data from Eagle County Public Health, Vail Health and the State of Colorado, coupled with clear guidance from the Office of the Bishop
Continue reading
With all due respect to Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Third Sunday in Advent is often nicknamed “Stirrup Sunday” because of the fantastic Collect for this third week of our Advent journey. Here it is: Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us;
Continue reading
About 100 pounds, rep #8, 3rd set, bench press straight long barbell medal rod….dangling precariously above my exposed head and throat. Homestead Court Club weight room, Edwards, recently. One might think that situation requires total focus to coordinate a smooth complete press as what remains of my pectoral muscles are
Continue reading
The traditional theme of the Third Sunday in Advent, noted in your Advent bags, is Joy. That’s why the third Advent candle is rose-hued instead of the more somber purple, a visual reminder that we need a joy fix in the midst of a more reflective time. Really?!! Would that ALL
Continue reading
On this Third Sunday of Advent, we mark our third significant Saint’s Feast Day in Advent, the Feast of Saint Lucy or Lucia. Like her contemporary Saint Nicholas, Saint Lucia marks a consequential shift from the early, persecuted church to the landed, establishment church of the early Middle Ages. The
Continue reading
One of the pandemic’s most ravaging larcenies is depriving us of shared musical experiences, and not in some furtive, pilfering manner either. From concerts to live theater, from choirs to festivals, from hymn sing to children’s’ holiday performances, it seems COVID’s singular objective is to deprive us wholesale of moments
Continue reading
