Matthew’s Gospel shows us that faith begins not with certainty but with seeking. The Magi do not understand everything. They misstep in going to Jerusalem instead of Bethlehem. They ask questions. They rely on grace. Yet God guides them still – by the star, by Scripture, and finally by a dream.

When they find the child, they fall to their knees. The Journey ends in worshiping the Christ child. Matthew then tells us something beautiful: “They went home by another road.” Encountering Christ does not leave us the same. It changes our direction, our loyalties, our way of seeing the world….

There are a lot of music lovers in our family, which means that at some point during this festive season discussion about favorite Christmas pop songs gets introduced. The responses are similar from year to year: someone always says Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Another likes Bruce Springsteen’s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” My response is always the same. It’s not Christmas for me until I hear John Lennon and Yoko Ono sing their “Happy Christmas” song….

Over the last three Sundays in the Adult Forum we have explored a book called Discernment: A Path to Spiritual Awakening, by Rose Mary Dougherty. In the course of the short book, Dougherty discusses the importance of prayer, self-knowledge, and developing discernment as a habit of life.

She concludes her book with this lovely poem by Sister Maura Eichner, about a particular journey of discernment. May it guide your own Advent journey and beyond!….

John the Baptist steps onto the scene like a sudden trumpet blast in a quiet valley. There is no warm-up, no polite throat clearing, just a voice crying out in the wilderness, calling Israel to turn back toward God. His message is simple, startling, and bracing: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”

Repentance, in this passage, is not merely feeling sorry or privately regretting our missteps. It’s a turning, a reorientation of the heart, much like a traveler realizing the path has been bending away from the destination, and deciding, at last, to pivot. John stands in the desert as a guidepost, urging God’s people to change direction because God’s reign is approaching….

Happy new (liturgical) year! Despite the fact that Christmas decorations arrive ever-earlier, and the reality that many of us reading this will be mostly focused on Thanksgiving and its aftermath, a new time in the church year is—literally—right around the corner. The season of Advent arrives this weekend, and with it comes a distinct shift in liturgical tone and spiritual orientation.

One focus in Advent is on “preparation.” There are lots of ways we can prepare, and it is incumbent upon us not to allow the busyness of literal preparation overcome the seasonal process of reorienting our hearts. To-do lists have their place, and action steps come with relationships. Still, in addition to all of that, Advent offers us invitations: to alter our vision; to turn toward the birth of something new…..

There is a story in John’s Gospel, which we will read on Sunday, where Jesus is talking to some religious leaders called Sadducees. They came to Jesus with a question meant to trap Him – a riddle about marriage in the resurrection. They did not believe in life after death, so they posed a question they thought had no answer. Jesus however responds not with confusion, but with clarity.

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

In those few words, Jesus reveals something profound – not only about eternal life, but about the nature of God Himself….

If you are a fan of horror films, this is your season and tonight is your night. There’s lots to choose from in the categories of suspense, supernatural creepiness and gore. But for me, one of the most evocative representations of Halloween is in the Hollywood classic Meet Me in St. Louis. Released in 1944, directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Judy Garland (among others), the movie follows a family through the seasons of the year that lead up to the 1904 World’s Fair.

The film was based on a book, which was a compilation of short stories originally published in the New Yorker magazine. It’s a musical (natch), and includes famous numbers like “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The “Autumn” section of the story focuses on Tootie, the youngest sister of four, who dresses herself up in rags and a fake mustache and goes outside after dark on Halloween to make mischief with the older children….