Two things I’d share with you today, the fifth day of Christmas, the 62nd anniversary of my own baptism (long story…), the fourth day of Kwanzaa (which I come to appreciate more year by year) – a lot going on! First, thinking year-end (or year-long, life-long!)... Of course, we come finally to the central character of our story, the one who really mattered for the rest of the characters, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Herod, the shepherds, the magi, Joseph and Mary (and who really matters for us). They are all like planets drawn into... I am moved by Mary. I’d not thought much about her for decades. Yes, somebody had to bear and deliver the Christ child. And then she makes the occasional cameo appearance in the Gospels. I’d visited and spoken in a few Catholic churches, and grumbled a little to... Mary had a fiancée, which is way too fancy and romantic a word. There were no wedding planners, photo shoots or engraved invitations. They simply were betrothed, committed to marriage. Without picturing anything overly romantic, we can be sure Mary cared deeply for... We don’t find Elizabeth or John the Baptist on Christmas cards or manger scenes. Thankfully, we also don’t see much of King Herod – although he does slip into a pageant or two. Who’s been more vilified than King Herod the Great? It’s as if a good story needs a nasty... Mary’s pregnancy and delivery are prefigured and kept in good company by her cousin Elizabeth – who’s way past her prime, and thought to be beyond her childbearing years. Was it a miracle? Or just such a stretch beyond what people knew about obstetrics back then?... When our New Testament writers tried to make sense of the birth of Jesus, they sorted through the many scrolls that were what we think of as the Old Testament books of the Bible, and unrolled Isaiah – but not too far, as they found what spoke powerfully across the... In early 2026, my plan – my dream – is to guide us together through some very practical ways to go about our two foundational activities as Christians: reading the Bible, and praying. Of course, they aren’t “activities,” like playing tennis or dusting the furniture.... 