Gord Carkner has just released The Great Escape from Nihilism, the themes of which are evident in this Advent reflection. (See below for more about the book and his work with graduate students and faculty on the UBC campus.) Just…
It was a dark and stormy night (December 12), and I was debating the wisdom of driving from East Van to the depths of Ladner – even for what seemed like a sure thing: Malcolm Guite and Friends. (I had…
When to start up with Christmas – the annual dilemma. Big box stores were restocked and ready to go on the very eve of Halloween. Purists won’t allow it to be mentioned until the advent of Advent (November 30), and…
Every year we hear the same story. Yet, though the story of Jesus’ incarnation has been with us for two millennia, it is still fresh every year. Why is that? First of all, the story has been told in so many ways –…
As you begin this reflection, I invite you to start by reading Revelation 12, the most forgotten Christmas passage in scripture. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the magi were not the only ones to witness the newborn king. A dragon also saw…
As our celebrations of the birth of Christ draw near, the stores are filled with toys and books, gadgets and bright lights, ribbons and bows. We are bombarded with messages to ‘buy more’ and ‘buy now’ because we’ve convinced ourselves…
Eugene Peterson, Anne Lamott, Walter Brueggemann, Tony Campolo and many other notables around the Christian world are admirers of the Christian Seasons Calendar which is produced by Ed Searcy and his church in Vancouver. Peterson, for example, says: “Every day is…
In the story of the Annunciation, Mary’s faithful reply, “Let it be unto me, according to your word,” has long been heralded as the epitome of trusting God. Without any real understanding of what the Lord is asking of her, Mary nevertheless gives…