As I was considering more and more Advent spiritual disciplines and practices throughout the Holy History of the Christian Church I began to ruminate on fasting. One thing I learned quickly in the Roman Catholic Church was that fasting did not simply mean abstaining from all food for a whole day. As a young Baptist, this is what I was taught fasting consisted of, though I … [Read more...]
Advent and "The Lives of Others" (2006): A Cinematic View of Christ's Return.
Yesterday I mentioned East Germany in a post, and I think Christ's Second Advent is a little the falling of the Berlin wall. In the film "The Lives of Others" (2006) set during the fall of the Soviet-controlled government of East Germany, there is a beautiful moment when a group of secret police hear on the radio that the wall has come down. They are busy at work opening … [Read more...]
Liturgical Calendar: Ordinary Time
I believe it was after the 'reforms' of the Second Vatican Council that the descriptor 'Ordinary Time' came into common parlance. The Liturgical Calendar is punctuated by so many feasts and two huge seasons, that it might appear like the ordinary is out of place. In the same way that Advent and Lent were supposed to lead us to Christ, perhaps ordinary time was as well. When … [Read more...]
What do Joel Osteen, Latin Christendom, and Sausages Have in Common? (This Post)
In keeping with the series on the Liturgical Calendar, I thought it best to give a brief exposition on Lent. If Advent is the beginning of the Calendar and one of the two 'big' celebrations, Lent is the second. Lent traditionally was the 40 days leading up to Easter. The significance of 40 in the Bible seems constant. The flood of Noah was 40 days and nights, the … [Read more...]
From the World Tree to the Cross of Christ
For more thoughts on Advent, I decided to write some background for the Christmas tree. Trees played an important role in ancient Germanic Paganism. The World Tree -as any World of Warcraft player knows- was the centre of their life and narrative. Its roots reached under the earth and up into the Heavens, with gods like Ravens perched on its branches. They worshipped around … [Read more...]