Do you enjoy Christmas decorations and lights as much as I do? When I see the gentle snowflakes falling and accumulating on the branches and outdoor decor, I can't help but be thankful for such beauty! But, in reality, even though these …( read more )

Perhaps, like me, you periodically wonder why God Almighty takes actions like He does. At this time of the year, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, why did God decide that the best way to show His love for us was to send His Son as …( read more )

The gifts circled the tree in a wide radius and reached toward the ceiling. Early Christmases escape my memory, but the later ones I remember fondly. My grandmother worked at the local hospital as a nursing assistant, and my grandfather …( read more )

Recently, I listened to an episode of the BBC series, A History of the World. It described an amazing sculpture, The Throne of Weapons. In 1992, an Anglican bishop, Rt. Rev. Dinis Sengulane, one of Africa's greatest peacemakers, …( read more )

As we walk through the store aisles, the girls scan the rows for all the latest toys arriving for the Christmas season. Their anticipation of what lies ahead in a few more weeks is piqued high with excitement. They are waiting — waiting …( read more )

A year ago, early in Advent, on December 3, 2020, I took part in a Zoom dialogue with our Prime Minister and 400 faith leaders from across Canada. "I have been proud of our fellow Canadians to make it through this pandemic, but we have …( read more )

When I studied preaching at seminary, we had the opportunity to spend three hours with Marshall McLuhan, who coined the phrase, "The medium is the message." In 1964, he proposed that the form of the message determines the way in which that …( read more )

When my son was little, he and his brother had an Advent calendar for a month before Christmas. Every day, the boys would open a window and see the picture and verse inside — no chocolate in those days! As Christmas approached, they would …( read more )

One day, we received a newsletter from a Christian organization, and much to my surprise, there was a Christmas postage stamp on it. This year's Canadian Christmas stamp has a simple line drawing of an angel blowing a trumpet over a …( read more )

The festival of Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun", on December 25th, was a time when the sun god, Sol, patron of Roman soldiers, was feted. It was a celebration inaugurated by Emperor Aurelian in 274 AD. Houses were decorated with …( read more )