Advent Part V: Seeking the Holy Through Our Sense of Smell December 24-25, 2021 from Luke 2:1–20. Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn…. When the angels had left the shepherds and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” At last, we arrive at Christmas, a

Advent IV: Seeking the Holy Through Our Sense of Taste December 19, 2021 from Luke 1:39­­­–55: The Mighty One has … filled the hungry with good things. from Psalm 80:5: You have fed them with the bread of tears…. In today’s Gospel, Mary sings of God’s filling the hungry with “good things.” Probably most of us can think of certain traditional foods—“good things”—we count on to celebrate various holidays and holy days. That said, I don’t know of a single traditional dish that m

Advent III: Seeking the Holy Through the Tactile December 12, 2021 from Luke 3:7–18: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The Gospel for Advent 3 contains a number of tactile images. Some of them draw on the four elements of classical Greek thought—earth, air, fire, and water. Fire and water are explicitly mentioned. “Earth” is suggested by the word “stones.” “Air” is implied in the

Advent II: Seeking the Holy Through Sound and Silence December 5, 2021 from Luke 3:1–6: John went into the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” If last Sunday’s Gospel appealed to our sense of sight, this Sunday’s appeals to our sense of hearing. John the