Word Made Flesh

One of the many Christmas carols which I enjoy is “I heard the bells on Christmas Day”. It was written by Henry Wadworth Longfellow in the middle of the United State’s Civil War shortly after one of his son was shot and wounded. As he considers the angels proclaimation to the shepherds of, peace on [...]

Trust that God arrives in the least likely places in our lives…   The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the [...]

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, [...]

One of my favorite hobbies is listening to music. As I sit down to write this advent reflection, the first thing that goes through my mind is, what music am I going to listen to as I write? Most people would probably think about what they are going to write about prior to writing. I’m [...]

I hate waiting. While I am (typically?) patient with people, I often curse at people in traffic, get antsy in line at the grocery store, find myself frustrated when the internet won’t load on my old computer and absolutely despise the music played over the phone while I am waiting for a representative. I am [...]

During the 2009 Christmas season, staff from our Word Made Flesh (WMF) children’s home in Chennai, India, found a brother and sister living and working on a trash heap. Referred to as rag-pickers—a derogatory term that over-identifies the children with what they do rather than who they are—the small children were digging through garbage looking [...]

For several years, I attended a church in West Michigan called “Mars Hill.” One Christmas the teaching pastor there, Rob Bell, preached from Revelation 12. I had never heard an interpretation of that passage paralleling the Christmas Story as told in the Gospels, but it seemed to piece together. It paints a more violent picture [...]

Among the Flock: What Are Really You Wired For? The presence of sheep during the Christmas season is unmistakable. I honestly don’t know why sheep are the most common animal mentioned in scripture, but I have a hunch that it’s no accident. Though sheep are not specifically mentioned in the account of Creation, God made [...]

My kids can make a party out of anything.  For them, any reason big or small is cause for raucous celebration.  We’ve worked it out where we pretty much just keep the costume bag close at hand and the box with the streamers and candles loaded and at-the-ready.  Just in 2010 alone we’ve partied for [...]

In our secret yearnings we wait for your coming, and in our grinding despair we doubt that you will. And in this privileged place we are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do we and by those who despair more deeply than do we. Look upon your church and its pastors in this season [...]