276.  Did you listen well?

[Old year 2024 – welcoming 2025] The echo of Christmas is still fresh in our minds.  Christmas decorations are everywhere.  The nights are long and the days short and cold. We are all enjoying leftovers and relaxing after the big preparations for a Christmas gathering.  What a joy it is to be able to come together!  We clean up…

275. A word of burning coal

[Christmas 2024] On a dark night in a small village in the heart of the world, our world was fundamentally changed.  Nothing of what had been would ever be the same again.  The vast majority of humanity didn’t even take note of the moment when heaven touched earth and angelic song called shepherds from a field to…

275.  A blazing trail of light

The first day of December 2024 is over. It has begun, as it does every year. A celebration in the Christian world that honors the essence of our existence.  A celebration that includes everyone—no matter how broken or commercialized it might be—there are few parts of the world that are not adorned with gold, silver, and…