Sharing the Word for December 17, 2020
Today’s First Reading shows us the patriarch Jacob on his death bed distributing blessings to his twelve sons.
Friendship with Jesus
There is an old hymn called “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” It speaks of the privilege and comfort of the depth of intimacy Jesus shares with each of us on a personal level; through all the joys and sorrows, ups and downs of life.
Advent Is Always
The suffering, injustice, and devastation on this planet are too great now to settle for any infantile gospel or any infantile Jesus.
Born to Eternal Life
The Peace Prayer concludes with a simple reminder: “For it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” More than a mere summary of the prayer’s second stanza with its call to kenotic selflessness, this verse points to the resurrection, the foundation of Christian hope knitted into the very sinews of every deciduous ash, aspen, beech, birch, cherry, elm, and hickory tree.
Court sides with Colorado, New Jersey challenges to pandemic worship restrictions
The Supreme Court, once again siding with houses of worship opposed to pandemic-related restrictions, ordered lower federal courts in Colorado and New Jersey Dec. 15 to reexamine state-imposed indoor worship restrictions.