Twelve days ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus. The announcement of “good news of great joy for all the people” comes with a visible “sign.” In the case of the birth narrative in Luke 2, we see “a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” We celebrate this moment as … More Eyes to See: The “Already” and “Not Yet” of Shalom

“Celebration is your spiritual discipline,” she said. “You are naturally drawn to prophetic literature, to lament; your eyes are open to suffering and injustice. So, you need to cultivate a spiritual practice of seeing the ‘already,’ the ‘first fruits’ – being present to and celebrating goodness in the now will be a discipline for you.” … More Wholehearted Advent: Practicing Joy

Rather than jump ahead to Christmas celebrations, Advent slows us down. However, we short circuit the potential impact of this season if we treat it merely as a kind of delayed gratification technique for enhancing our consumeristic pleasure. Advent is not about increasing the satisfaction of Christmas festivities by counting down with excited delight. Last … More Wholehearted Advent: Groaning & Trust