Podcast appearances and mentions of Christ Child

Color: White Old Testament: Isaiah 60:1–6 Psalm: Psalm 24; antiphon: v. 7 Epistle: Ephesians 3:1–12 Gospel: Matthew 2:1–12 Introit: Psalm 72:1–2, 10–11; antiphon: Liturgical Text Gradual: Isaiah 60:6b, 1 Verse: Matthew 2:2b The Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son   The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas; and yet, it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. While Christmas has focused on the Incarnation of our Lord—that is, on God becoming flesh—the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth—not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word, to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6). With gold they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11). Lectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Nutritional rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, and people figured out two ways to treat it before we even knew what vitamin D was. Research: “Oldest UK case of rickets in Neolithic Tiree skeleton.” 9/10/2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34208976 Carpenter, Kenneth J. “Harriette Chick and the Problem of Rickets.” The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 138, Issue 5, 827 – 832 Chesney, Russell W. “New thoughts concerning the epidemic of rickets: was the role of alum overlooked?.” Pediatric Nephrology. (2012) 27:3–6. DOI 10.1007/s00467-011-2004-9. Craig, Wallace and Morris Belkin. “The Prevention and Cure of Rickets.” The Scientific Monthly , May, 1925, Vol. 20, No. 5 (May, 1925). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/7260 Davidson, Tish. "Rickets." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 6th ed., vol. 7, Gale, 2020, pp. 4485-4487. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7986601644/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=811f7e02. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026. Friedman, Aaron. “A brief history of rickets.” Pediatric Nephrology (2020) 35:1835–1841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-019-04366-9 Hawkes, Colin P, and Michael A Levine. “A painting of the Christ Child with bowed legs: Rickets in the Renaissance.” American journal of medical genetics. Part C, Seminars in medical genetics vol. 187,2 (2021): 216-218. doi:10.1002/ajmg.c.31894 Ihde, Aaron J. “Studies on the History of Rickets. I: Recognition of Rickets as a Deficiency Disease.” Pharmacy in History, 1974, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1974). https://www.jstor.org/stable/41108858 Ihde, Aaron J. “Studies on the History of Rickets. II : The Roles of Cod Liver Oil and Light.” Pharmacy in History, 1975, Vol. 17, No. 1 (1975). https://www.jstor.org/stable/41108885 Newton, Gil. “Diagnosing Rickets in Early Modern England: Statistical Evidence and Social Response.” Social History of Medicine Vol. 35, No. 2 pp. 566–588. https://academic.oup.com/shm/article/35/2/566/6381535 O'Riordan, Jeffrey L H, and Olav L M Bijvoet. “Rickets before the discovery of vitamin D.” BoneKEy reports vol. 3 478. 8 Jan. 2014, doi:10.1038/bonekey.2013.212. Palm, T. “Etiology of Rickets.” Br Med J 1888; 2 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.1457.1247 (Published 01 December 1888) Rajakumar, Kumaravel and Stephen B. Thomas. “Reemerging Nutritional Rickets: A Historical Perspective.” Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. Published Online: April 2005 2005;159;(4):335-341. doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.4.335 Swinburne, Layinka M. “Rickets and the Fairfax family receipt books.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Vol. 99. August 2006. Tait, H. P.. “Daniel Whistler and His Contribution to Pædiatrics.” Edinburgh Medical Journal vol. 53,6 (1946): 325–330. Warren, Christian. “No Magic Bolus: What the History of Rickets and Vitamin D Can Teach Us About Setting Standards.” Journal of Adolescent Health. 66 (2020) 379e380. https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(20)30038-0/pdf Wheeler, Benjamin J et al. “A Brief History of Nutritional Rickets.” Frontiers in endocrinology vol. 10 795. 14 Nov. 2019, doi:10.3389/fendo.2019.00795 World Health Organization. “The Magnitude and Distribution of Nutritoinal Rickets: Disease Burden in Infants, Children, and Adolescents.” 2019. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep27899.7 Zhang, M., Shen, F., Petryk, A., Tang, J., Chen, X., & Sergi, C. (2016). “English Disease”: Historical Notes on Rickets, the Bone–Lung Link and Child Neglect Issues. Nutrients, 8(11), 722. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8110722 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lord speaks of his Anointed One: Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. I am placing my Spirit on him (Isaiah 42:1). Amen.Raising four daughters, we had plenty of stuffed animals, ponies, dolls, and Barbies in our home. But we also had - and still have - Batman. Our youngest daughter, Belle, especially loved Batman. We watched all the shows. She knew all the characters. She even had the pajamas. When she was three, I took Belle with me to Target just before Christmas to show her the Fisher Price Batcave. It was big. It was awesome. And she really wanted it!Shortly after seeing her dream toy, Belle was on the phone with Shelley's mom and was telling her all about the Batcave. Again, Belle was only 3 and she didn't always speak very clearly. Over the phone she excitedly said, "Grandma, I want the Batcave. It has Batman and Robin and Joker and Penguin and Mr. Freeze and I really want it!" But Grandma Stolzman said, "Belle, I don't understand. What are you saying? I don't think I can get it for you." An exasperated Belle replied with a deep sigh and said, "Grandma, just give me the money. I buy it myself!"You can imagine the look on Belle's face on Christmas Day as the last present to be opened was ... the Batcave! And she didn't have to buy it.The delight on a young child's face as she opens her big Christmas present. The joy on the face of a young woman as her boyfriend gets down on one knee and opens the ring box. The stunned look on the man's face as he walks into his surprise 40th birthday party. The relief on the couple's faces when the locksmith opens their car door after the keys had been locked inside and they had been standing in 10-degree weather. Expressions of delight, joy, surprise and relief - just from opening something.Today we find these same expressions on our faces at the opening of something else. It is the opening of heaven.Over the past few weeks, we have knelt with the shepherds to worship the Infant in the manger. We've traveled with the Persian astrologers who followed the star to worship the King of the Jews. Today we take a huge leap - 30 years later. We are on the banks of the Jordan River with John the Baptist. On this first Sunday after the Festival of the Epiphany, we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord.We are in the season of Epiphany. Epiphany means "reveal." During the season of Epiphany, we see the Christ Child revealed to the Magi with the miraculous star. We see the Christ revealed in the waters of the Jordan River as God's Son. We see the Messiah revealed as the miracle worker when he changes water into wine at a wedding. Jesus' Epiphany in the water is his inauguration, the official beginning of his ministry, and his anointing with the Holy Spirit and power.Until his baptism, Jesus was recognized and worshiped only by a handful of people. Shepherds at his birth. Simeon and Anna in the temple when he was 40 days old. Magi from the East when he was a toddler. The neighbors in Nazareth probably didn't have a clue. To them, Jesus was the carpenter's son, working in his father's shop.Then one day when he was 30 years old, Jesus stood in the Jordan River, shoulder to shoulder with the people he came to save. What a day this is! At Christmas we celebrate heaven opening so the Son of God may be born to live with us. At Jesus' Baptism we celebrate heaven opening so we may be reborn to live with God.We need Jesus coming to us and God opening heaven to us. On our own, we are not coming to Jesus. We are not entering heaven. That's because we are dirty with sin. We have separated ourselves from God. We have strayed from his way and rejected his will. As Isaiah said, we are like broken reeds and snuffed out wicks (Isaiah 42:3). We are filled with anger, venom, and spite. We are covered with pride, prejudice, and profanity. We are consumed with apathy, indifference, and stinginess.Heaven is closed to people like us. Hell is reserved for people like us. Adam and Eve were created by the Trinity to be holy and righteous children of God. They lost God's image with their fall into sin. As children of Adam, we are now born slaves of Satan. Sin is our master. Hell is our dungeon. Like our first parents, we hide from God and don't want to be in his presence.Jesus comes to us so he can bring us to God. As Jesus is standing in the water, God's Son is standing in solidarity with sinners. Jesus is fulfilling all righteousness in this water, so we might be made righteous ones through that same water. Jesus is baptized in our sewer, to put our sins upon him, so that with that same water, we might be cleansed. He takes the filth, stench, and sewage upon himself so we might be purified, rinsed, and restored. That's a graphic picture. But it's also an accurate picture. Our sin is the cesspool we are living and wallowing in. And without hesitation, Jesus steps in.John objects. Don't step in this water, Jesus! It's filthy! It's full of sins! But Jesus steps right on in. It's where he wants to be. It's where he needs to be!Jesus isn't washing away any one specific sin. He is washing away all our many and varied sins. He washes away our inherent, inborn, natural sins. He cleanses us from sins we commit knowingly and purposefully - the one drink too many, the angry word, the vengeful thought, the lustful glance, the covetous desire, the stress-filled impatience, the doubt-filled worry, the gossip-laden text, and the profane post. He wipes away all the sins we try to defend as righteous anger or filling loneliness or "that's the way I was born" or "everybody else is doing it" or "God wants me to be happy." He even bathes us from all the sins we have forgotten or didn't realize we were committing - our apathy toward lost souls, our uncaring for the hurting, our indifference for the less fortunate, our stinginess with our money, or our lack of prayers for God's ministry.The Spotless One was washed in Jordan's baptismal water so you might be spotless in your baptismal water. Jesus' work at the Jordan was not in power, but in weakness. Not by force but in love. Not by separating himself, but by joining us in our cesspool.God the Father is delighted with his Son's work. He opens heaven just to speak to his Son and announces, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him" (Matthew 3:17). Just as Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil, so the Father sends the Holy Spirit to anoint the Son for his offices as Prophet, Priest, and King. Certainly, the Father could communicate with his only-begotten Son without parting the clouds. So, there's something else happening here. Something more than the Father needing to speak to his Son and opening the heavens like you might open the car door window to speak to the drive-thru attendant.Matthew writes, "Suddenly, the heavens were opened for him" (Matthew 3:16)! Such a small sentence. Easy to miss. But don't take this phrase lightly. When this happened before "when the floodgates of the heavens were opened," (Genesis 7:11) God sent a flood to destroy sinful humanity with whom he was displeased. He sent down judgment. He ordered his wrath upon the world. He deluged the world with the waters of absolute annihilation. But now he opens the gates of heaven to bring washed humanity to himself. He sends down the Holy Spirit with power and peace. He brings a deluge upon the world with the waters of pure grace. Heaven is opened so that the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven may see this wonder in the making.All three persons of the triune Godhead were present at Jesus' Baptism. Just as all three persons of the Trinity were involved at the beginning of the universe, now all three are involved at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. At creation, the Father was speaking, the Son was the Word being spoken, and the Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters - blessing creation. At Jesus' baptism, the Father was speaking, the Son made flesh was standing in the waters, and the Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters like a dove, blessing the event. In the same way, the Holy Trinity was present at our baptisms, as we are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).The Father announced, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with him." These words comfort us because Jesus was fulfilling his purpose as God's only-begotten Son. Now, through faith in the only-begotten Son, we are made God's adopted sons and daughters. We become members of his holy family through Baptism.Because Jesus stood in the water for you, the Father has opened heaven to you. Like a child opening her special present with joy on her face, so we look with joy that heaven is opened to us. Like the young woman with delight on her face at seeing the man she loves open the ring box, so we are delighted that the God-Man has opened heaven to us and made us his eternal bride. Like the couple who have relief on their faces that their vehicle doors have been unlocked and opened so they don't have to suffer the frigid cold any longer, so we have relief on our faces that God has opened heaven and closed the gates of hell and the suffering of fire to us. Like the man with a look of shock on his face at his surprise 40th birthday party, so we are shocked and surprised that God would ever open heaven to sinners like us.Baptism is not a one-time event that happened years ago for us. It is a life-changing occurrence every day of our lives. In our Baptism, we are freed, claimed, cleansed, forgiven, born again, clothed in Christ, sealed by the Spirit, and marked with the sign of the cross. Whew! The Paschal Candle beside the font is lit today. That candle is lit only for baptisms, funerals, and the season of Easter. The Paschal Candle displays that we have died to sin, been buried with Christ, and raised to a new life in him. That's why we'll end our worship today singing, "There is nothing worth comparing To this lifelong comfort sure! Open-eyed my grave is staring: Even there I'll sleep secure. Though my flesh awaits its raising, Still my soul continues praising: I am baptized into Christ; I'm a child of paradise!" (CW: 737 v 5).Martin Luther asked in his Small Catechism, "How can water do such great things?" If it's plain water, it can't. It can only wash your body, but it cannot touch your soul. But if Jesus is in the water, it can do great, divine things. When Jesus stepped into that water, the water didn't change Jesus, Jesus changed the water. "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit who leads you to Christ also joins you to Christ.Remember your Baptism daily. Your sin torments you. Satan plagues you. The world tempts you. Death is near you. You become weary of the fight. You appear weak, helpless, hopeless - as if there's no reason to go on. Fellow baptized saints, travel daily to the font. Your Baptism releases a forgiving flood. Your Baptism washes a guilty conscience. Your Baptism gives you strength divine. Your Baptism ends Satan's ugly accusation. Your Baptism ends Death's gladness. You no longer live a life that will end in death, but you will die a death that will end in life.When we moved to Casper, we moved all the Batman characters and vehicles. We even moved three Batcaves! Belle doesn't play with them anymore. Hopefully our grandchildren will. And hopefully, they'll love them as much as Belle did. All we have to do is open the closet door.In Jesus' baptismal river and your baptismal font, with water and Word, heaven has been opened to you ... and it shall never be closed again. Amen.This is what the true God says, the Lord who creates the heavens and stretches them out, who spreads out the earth and everything that it produces, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it (Isaiah 42:7). Amen.View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.casperwels.com/sermons/heaven-is-opened/

When writing teacher Peter Turchi sees a map, he looks for the adventure it holds. “To ask for a map,” he says, “is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ ” I seized on that idea when preparing to teach a Sunday school class during Christmas on the “Faith of the Wise Men.” As I studied maps, I learned the Magi traveled some nine hundred miles—perhaps over several months—to find the Christ child, finally finding not a babe in a manger but a toddler living with His parents in a house. Their reaction after such a long trip? “They bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:11). Their journey invited my students and me to plan with intention to seek Christ more fully. As Scripture tells us, when the Magi finally arrived in Jerusalem, their urgent question was: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (v. 2). Distance didn’t deter their worship. Nor did danger or delays. Herod’s deadly demand was ironic: “Go and search carefully for the child” (v. 8). Nobody had searched more carefully for Jesus than the Magi. We can heed the example of the wise men by seeking Christ carefully, too. Then, as we worship Him, we can expect our heavenly Father to speak to our hearts, leading us from old ways to new paths to journey with Him.

January 6, 2025

Join us for today's Our Daily Bread devotional by Patricia Raybon, taken from Matthew 2:1-2 and 7-12. Today's devotional is read by Peta. Meet the team at odb.org/meet-the-team. God bless you.We hope that you have enjoyed today's reading from Our Daily Bread. You can find more exciting content from Our Daily Bread Ministries by following @ourdailybreadeurope on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. You can even sign up to receive Our Daily Bread Bible reading notes sent straight to your door for free: odb.org/subscribe

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The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. While Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord … that is, on God becoming flesh … the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. The Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth … not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6). With gold, they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11).

Looking at the three gifts of the wise men can help us reflect on what we should bring to the Christ child.

We have come to the end of our Advent Journey and are looking forward to what is in store this special night. Thank you for worshipping with us as we welcome the Christ Child, God putting on flesh this evening. We hope and pray that you connect with God in a meaningful way as we come to him this evening. Merry Christmas! Thank you again for joining us in worship. For more information about our congregation, please visit our website at milfordhillsumc.org. If you would like to support Milford Hills UMC's mission to Love, Serve, and Live as Christ, please visit milfordhillsumc.org/give or text 'GIVE' to 833-264-3866 and make sure you click the "Christmas Eve Offering" to help out our Zoe Empowers Group in Kenya.  Please subscribe to our channel to stay updated when our new worship services and other videos are released. 

A few weeks ago, we heard the Christmas story from Joseph's point of view through Matthew. On Christmas Eve we heard the Christmas story from Mary's point of view through Luke. Today we hear the Christmas story from eternity's point of view through John.When we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we usually think about the story of the first Christmas passed down to us by Matthew and Luke. We listen in as the angel Gabriel tells the lowly Virgin Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of his eternal Son. We watch Joseph the carpenter wrestle over the question to divorce his betrothed wife who is pregnant with a child he knows is not his, until an angel in a dream tells him to take Mary as his wife for the Child is God's own Son. We follow the couple to Bethlehem, and see the newborn Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger because there is no room in the inn.We hear the angel proclaiming the "Good News of great joy" to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. We listen as the mighty angel chorus offers its praise and glory to God in the highest, expressing the peace God's Son has come to bring. We join the shepherds as they visit the Christ Child, and we journey with the wise men as they follow the star and bring their gifts to "the one who has been born King of the Jews."But the Gospel of John shows us Christ's birth from a different point of view. John takes us to the beginning of time and introduces us to the Word, the mighty Son of God who created all things. The Gospel of John begins: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). For the next 12 verses, John describes the Child of Christmas according to his divine nature, as the Son of God. He is the mighty Word of God, the eternal Son. Everything in heaven and earth was created through him. He is the light of men. Now, as John reaches the pivotal moment in all human history, he tells us in verse 14, "The Word became flesh."In that great, unfathomable mystery, Jesus takes our human nature into his divinity: he is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.That is the mystery of Christmas—the majesty of God's gracious plan. To save us from our sin, God's Son became human just like us. As a human he could place himself under God's Law and earn our place in heaven by his perfect life. As a human he could take our place under God's wrath, suffering and dying for our sins and disobedience. Being God, his shed blood was able to pay for the sins of the whole world. Being God, he could — and did — defeat Satan, sin and hell for all of us.Being both the Son of God and the Son of Man, through faith in the God/Man, we are adopted as God's sons and daughters (Ephesians 2:5).John continues in his Gospel: "And the Word … made his dwelling among us." Jesus birth in Bethlehem was not the first time he dwelt among us in our world. He appears for the first time in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord ministering to Hagar in her distress. He makes the unseen God known by loving the unloved, caring for the abandoned, and helping the helpless. He appears to Moses in the burning bush to give him direction in his life as the chosen leader of God's chosen people. He is at the edge of the Israelite camp, guiding and protecting them for 40 years of wandering as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.But now this will be how Jesus appears for all eternity. As both God and Man, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. As God and Man, he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (Nicene Creed).Verse 14 continues: "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."How would you like to lift up your eyes any time of day or night and look upon the glory of God? The Israelites who left Egypt enjoyed that privilege for 40 years. The Lord revealed his glory in the pillar that led them across the wilderness to the Promised Land. By day it was a pillar of cloud, by night a pillar of fire. After Israel settled into the Promised Land the pillar disappeared. God was still present in their midst, but their eyes could no longer perceive his glory.On that first Christmas, God's glory shone briefly around the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem. But when they ran into the little town they saw nothing special, just an ordinary-looking baby who was "wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." No halo shone around his head. The fullness of the deity was concealed within the dwelling of Jesus' infant body.His glory as the Son of God would not be revealed until his Baptism at age 30. Only then did he begin revealing his divine glory through the epiphany of his words and miracles, demonstrating his power over disease, accidents, nature, demons … even death.Today his glory is hidden in common, ordinary things like the words of the Bible, the water of Baptism and the bread and wine of Holy Communion. But it is through these common, ordinary things that we will one day gaze upon the glory of the One and Only.John then sets the record straight that John the Baptist was not the promised Messiah. Though he stirred up a lot of excitement, his job was always and only to point people to the true Messiah. That's why he cried out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"The Baptist's words line up perfectly with what the apostle John has been writing all along. Jesus of Nazareth is no mere human. He is the only begotten Son of God who has existed from eternity. Now he dwells among us in human flesh."From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." The fact that God became human and lived here among us is the mystery and wonder of Christmas. But how often do we lose sight of that mystery after we celebrate Christmas, put away the decorations, and go back to our normal day-to-day lives? It's almost as if Christmas never came, and everything goes on the same.If Christmas is merely recalling God's Son becoming human and being born in Bethlehem, we are missing something truly significant. The important thing is to remember why he came and what he accomplished in those brief 33 years he dwelt among us.Unless we look in the right place, it looks as though his life really hasn't changed much of anything. There is still suffering, sickness and death. There is still misunderstanding, fear and hate. There is still crime, violence and war. And much of that is within our own homes.All these evils flow from our first parents' sinful disobedience when Adam and Eve ate the fruit God had forbidden and continue today through all our sins.Jesus came to deal with that sin, and the wrath of God it stirs. Jesus came to take our place, carry our guilt and sins to the cross, and suffer God's wrath that we deserve, paying the debt we can never repay. He did it all out of pure, undeserved love and mercy. And he is always here to give us the fullness of his love and grace.When you read John chapter 1, it is interesting that though John is writing about Jesus, he waits until verse 17 to name him. The Word, the Son of God has remained unnamed. But finally, the Word emerges from the shadows and is revealed in the spotlight: "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."John points out that Jesus came to replace the Old Testament Law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Knowing that neither the Israelites of old nor we in the new year of 2026 can keep God's laws perfectly, God sent his Son as the fulfillment of his Laws.As great as Moses was, he was merely the instrument through which God gave his people the knowledge of his laws. Jesus, the Babe of Bethlehem was different. He was the Son of God himself, and he came into our world bringing grace and truth. He fulfilled the laws of Moses, and completed the salvation first promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. From the cross his truth and grace pours out like an unending fountain for all time."No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." Is John correct that no human has ever seen God? Scripture describes Moses as the friend of God (Exodus 33:11), still, Moses could only gaze upon God's "back" and not God's "face." The gracious God was protecting his servant Moses when he told him, "You cannot see My face, for man shall not see me and live." Like staring into the sun, the sinner Moses could not tolerate looking upon the full expression of God's holiness and glory, only a portion of it. So, John is correct, no sinful human ever sat gazing upon the fullness of God's glory.But Christmas marks the birth of a new Man, One who is holy and spotless – the Word who has spent all eternity looking upon the beauty of God's glorious face. For the first time in his Gospel, John names the first person of the Trinity: he calls him the "Father." The Word has come to make his Father known to us.None of us has ever seen God. Left to our own experience and imagination none of us even comes close to knowing what God is really like. The struggles and difficulties of life distort his true image. He comes off looking angry and vindictive on one hand, or unknowing and uncaring on the other.But Jesus came at Christmas to make God known to us. He revealed him as our merciful, gracious, loving Heavenly Father – the God who so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son.This, too, is the Christmas story. Not from Joseph or Mary's point of view, but from eternity's point of view. For the Christ Child is God in the flesh, the Word dwelling with us, the fullness of God's grace, making the Father known to us. Amen.View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.casperwels.com/sermons/christmas-from-eternitys-point-of-view/

Why would kings tremble before a baby? In this Christmas-season sermon, Rev. David Buchs reflects on King Herod's fear of the Christ Child and what it reveals about power, idolatry, and the kind of King Jesus truly is. What the world sees as weakness and loss, God transforms into victory, life, and redemption.Sunday Worship – The Feast of the Holy InnocentsDecember 28, 2025 | Grace Lutheran Church | Little Rock, ArkansasPreached by Rev. David BuchsKey themes and takeaways: • Why the world fears children—and what that fear exposes about what we worship • Herod, Pharaoh, and the tragic logic of clinging to power • Christ's true throne: not political might, but the cross • The hope of the Holy Innocents and the Christian promise that death is not the end#GraceLutheranLittleRock #LittleRockChurch #ArkansasFaith #LutheranSermon #ChristianPodcast #ChristmasSermon #JesusChrist #ChristTheKing #HolyInnocents #FaithAndHope #BiblicalTeaching #ChristianReflection

Traditional Worship | Rev. Dr. Ashley Goad | The shepherds were the first to hear the good news, the first to see the Christ Child, and the first to share the message. Their story reminds us that God's love often arrives quietly, in fields — in ordinary places, among ordinary people — and then calls us to tell others. As we gather for worship today, may our hearts echo the shepherds' telegram of joy: Christ is born! God is with us! May we, too, go forth glorifying and praising God for all we have seen and heard this Christmas.

Read OnlineWhen the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Luke 2:22–24Forty days after a firstborn male was born, the law of Moses required that the mother participate in a purification ritual and that the parents were to “redeem” the child by offering a ritual sacrifice. As faithful Jews, Mary and Joseph took these obligations seriously. When they entered the Temple, they were met by a holy man named Simeon, who was among the faithful Jews “awaiting the consolation of Israel.”From its founding, the Kingdom of Israel had endured many troubled times. The last time the Kingdom of Israel had been united was under the reign of King David and his son Solomon in the tenth century B.C. After Solomon's death, the kingdom split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Northern Kingdom was captured by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and the Southern Kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., leading to the destruction of the First Temple and the exile of many Jews to Babylon for about seventy years. In the centuries that followed, Greek culture was imposed upon the region after the conquest of Alexander the Great, and the Romans finally captured Judah in 63 BC, maintaining control beyond the birth of Christ.This history of oppression and division created various responses among the Jewish people. Many prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah, the one who would bring consolation to Israel. Some Jews expected the Messiah to be a political leader who would reunite and restore the Kingdom. Others were indifferent to the prophecies. But a faithful remnant, like Simeon, awaited the Messiah who would bring about a profound spiritual renewal.Simeon was not a Pharisee, Sadducee, or scribe, but an ordinary devout Jew filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit Who revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Messiah. On the day Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, Simeon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, came to the Temple and recognized the Christ Child. He took Jesus in his arms and rejoiced, saying, “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled…”We should all strive to be like Simeon. Like the people of Israel and Judah, we are living in a world where God's Kingdom is often divided or overshadowed by immorality, wars, divisions, and a lack of faith. We might be tempted to address these challenges in various ways, but the best way is to become part of the faithful remnant who, like Simeon, trust in God's promises and eagerly anticipate His transforming action in our lives and in the world. Reflect today on the state of the world. In some places, the Kingdom of God is vibrant and alive; in others, it seems distant or absent. No matter where you find yourself, turn your gaze to the all-powerful Messiah, Who is capable of renewing His Kingdom on Earth as we await its fullness at the end of time. Devote yourself to His mission, and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire you to be an active participant in bringing about the reign of God. My Lord and Messiah, as I see the challenges and divisions in the world around me, help me to trust in Your promises. May I, like Simeon, be filled with faith and hope as I await Your Kingdom. Inspire me to be an instrument of Your grace, helping to build Your Kingdom here on Earth. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Janmad, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Homily for the Sunday after Nativity The Child Christ in the World—and in Our Hearts Gospel: St. Matthew 2:13–23 [Retelling the Lesson] God humbles Himself to save mankind. He leaves His rightful inheritance as God and becomes man, born as a child in Bethlehem. And how does the world receive Him? Is He born in a temple? In a palace? Places that might seem fitting for the Ruler of the Ages?  No—He is laid in a manger, in a stable. And even that is not the worst of it. When the leaders of the day learn of His birth, do they submit to Him? Do they nurture and protect Him so that He may grow into manhood as prophet, priest, and king? No. In today's Gospel we hear that the Holy Family must flee into Egypt to escape assassination. Christ the Logos, the awaited Messiah, the answer to all the worlds ills, enters the world, and the world tries to kill Him. The slaughter of the innocents becomes the terrible offering laid on the altar of human evil and hard-heartedness. [This Story is OUR Story] This is a shameful story, and it is told to us each year at this time as a warning. It is tempting to imagine ourselves as the angels, the wise men, or the shepherds. But Scripture is far more useful when we recognize that we are often the ones who belittle Christ, who persecute Him, and who push Him to the margins. Just as Christ humbled Himself to enter the world as a child in Bethlehem in order to transform it, so He humbles Himself now to enter the temple of our hearts in order to transform us. And the parallel continues: what kind of place does He find this time? Is our heart a dwelling fit for the Ruler of the Ages—or is it more like a forgotten corner of our lives, our own version of the manger? And once we realize that it really is Christ who dwells within us, how do we respond? Do we give Him the due He deserves and reorder our lives around Him, or do we quietly push Him aside—to the periphery of our thoughts, our plans, and our priorities? [Gnostic America] Many scholars have noted that the dominant religion in America has never truly been Christianity, but a kind of modern Gnosticism. Gnosticism teaches that the divine already dwells within us, that we are already enlightened, already whole. This belief permeates our culture and is magnified by consumerism and – dare I say it - Orthodox triumphalism.  When clothed in Christian language, this belief sounds familiar—and dangerous. Whether consciously or subconsciously, when we hear that Christ dwells in our hearts, we are tempted to hear confirmation we already knew: that not only are we basically good people, and not only are we right pretty much all the time, we are already divine. But this is not true. God is God, and we are not. Yes, His desire is to transform us—that is the meaning of the Nativity—but when we claim divinity for ourselves, we do exactly what Herod did: we place ourselves on the throne and push Christ to the margins. Why did Herod seek to kill the Christ Child? Out of self-preservation. Christ was a threat. And if we are not careful, we will do the same. Our pride constructs a false reality in which we are the good ones—the good gods, if you will—and God merely works through us. This is spiritual delusion. It is prelest. We convince ourselves that we have built a glorious temple for God in our hearts from which He rules in glorious benevolence, when in fact we are still really only worshiping ourselves, no matter what words we use. [A Restatement] Let me come at this a different way.  Christ truly has been born within us. He lives at the center of our souls. But our souls are clouded by thoughts and passions, and so we often fail to notice Him. If we do not struggle against our fallen nature, we will nurture our pride or our fallen conscience and call it "God." But the god of pride cannot save—it can only deceive and our conscience is rarely more than our feelings. So how do we tell the difference? How do we know whether Christ reigns within us, or whether it is our ego? The answer is not abstract; it is clear from scripture. Christ did not live for Himself. Every action of His life was offered in sacrificial service to others—especially to those who did not understand Him or appreciate Him. He did not act out of fear of punishment or hope of reward. He acted out of love. He was Love. If our lives are truly marked by this kind of self-giving love, then Christ is indeed growing within us. But we must beware: pride is a master illusionist. Encouraged by the enemies of the air, the master marketers and manipulators, it will always try to convince us that we are more generous, more loving, more sacrificial than we really are. Here is a practical test for us:  Are we willing to leave our comfort zones, deny ourselves, and take up the cross?  Are we willing to give without expecting anything in return?  Are we willing to love even those who cannot repay us? What are we willing to give up so that some may be saved? Let's be even more concrete.  What is our attitude toward sacrificial giving? Toward tithing? Towards almsgiving?  How much time are we willing to give each day to prayer for those who suffer?  For those who hate us and those who wrong us?  How much effort do we invest in healing broken relationships in our families, our parish, and our community? When was the last time we tempered our self-righteousness with humility and admitted we were wrong and asked forgiveness of someone we perceived as less than ourselves? When challenged to real self-sacrifice, most of us will rebel – even pre-cognitively – and our big brains will begin to justify ignoring the need and "crossing to the other side of the road" as did the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan. But Christ never made excuses to avoid doing what was right. He rolled up His sleeves and did what needed to be done without counting the cost.  His sacrificial service was a natural expression of His love.   Can we say the same?  If not, then let's change our story so that we can. Orthodoxy is about more than words and being right.  God didn't consider Himself to be so right that he wasn't willing to come and suffer with and for us.  Orthodoxy is just a bunch of prideful words for us until we are willing to do the same. Christ is born! He has made His home in the manger of our souls. What happens next is us to us.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:13-23When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

Read OnlineWhen the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. Matthew 2:13–14Today we honor and ponder the family life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The love within their home exceeded that of any other household, and the love within their family poured forth upon their extended family and wider community. Scripture gives us limited details about the life of the Holy Family. What we do know is that from the very beginning, they suffered through enormous challenges.Mary's pregnancy was the first challenge they faced. She conceived the Christ Child before she and Joseph lived together. Though she knew how she conceived the Son of God, Joseph did not understand until the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. We can imagine that relatives and members of the community expressed their disapproval, given that the angel of the Lord did not reveal the truth to everyone.Jesus was born far away from their home, in the little town of Bethlehem, in a cave, where animals dwelt. Humble shepherds were their first guests, and the magi from the East soon followed. Within a year or two after Jesus' birth, this family had to uproot from their home and flee to Egypt, find accommodations, and earn a living because Herod sought to kill the child Jesus.After Herod's death, Joseph was instructed in two subsequent dreams that he could return to Israel and was to move his family to the small and unremarkable village of Nazareth. Though Nazareth was not held in high esteem, it was within this simple setting that Jesus was raised and learned the virtues of hard work, obedience, and humility. Nazareth, though overlooked by the world, became the sacred ground where the Savior of the world was prepared for His mission. Finally, given that Saint Joseph is not mentioned during the time that Jesus exercised His public ministry, it is commonly believed that Jesus and His mother experienced the human sorrow of Joseph's earthly death.Despite the hardships the Holy Family endured, the love in their home overshadowed every challenge, making their family life a source of the utmost consolation and joy. Amidst the trials they faced, the Holy Family found joy, not in worldly comforts, but in their deep union with God and with each other. Their home was a sanctuary of love, prayer, and mutual support, where God's presence was always felt. How fascinating it will be one day, in Heaven, if God reveals to us the details about the earthly and hidden life of the Holy Family. Though the angels witnessed their lives as they unfolded in time, we can hope and imagine that God, in His goodness, will share these mysteries with the saints, revealing the true beauty of the Holy Family's earthly life together. Their conversations, interactions, charity, prayer, fun, work, and all that made up their family life will be a source of eternal admiration and gratitude.Reflect today on the Holy Family. Ask God to give you insight into their lives together. As you do, use any insights as a source of inspiration for your own life and relationships with those closest to you. Though we will all fall short of the charity that permeated the home of the Holy Family, we can work to imitate them by allowing God to increase our charity toward one another. Through daily prayer, acts of sacrifice, and a commitment to love one another, we can create a family life that reflects the holiness and unity of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Your family life was holy beyond imagination. In your daily interactions, Your love was manifest and inspiring to each other and to Your relatives and friends. Please draw me into Your family life and teach me to love those in my family so that we will become a stronger community of love. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Angelica Kauffmann, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

See Matthew ch. 2. Though St Matthew's account may leave the impression that the flight into Egypt was almost immediate, it would have been at least forty days after Christ's birth, following His Presentation in the Temple (Luke ch. 2). Christ, his holy Mother and his adoptive father St Joseph probably remained in Egypt for several years, until the death of Herod the Great.   St Nikolai Velimirovic (in the Prologue) relates the following tale: the holy family, fleeing into Egypt, were accosted by robbers, one of whom, seeing the Christ Child, was amazed at his supernatural beauty and said 'If God were to take human flesh Himself, He would not be more beautiful than this child!'. The robber told his companions to take nothing from the family. In gratitude the Mother of God told him 'This Child will reward you richly for having spared Him today.' Thirty years later it was this robber who was crucified at Christ's right hand, and was granted to hear the words 'Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.'

Send us a textfrter the Magi brought their gifts to the Christ Child, they were instructed by God to return home "another way" than they had Come. Reason being, King Herod wanted them to return to him to tell him with the Child was. He said he wanted to also worship Him but his true intention was tyo kill Him. So God instructed the Magi to go another way.Well, Christmas is now over and I wonder if God has that same instruction for you. Is there something about your life that God would want you also to "go another way?" Perhaps it's an area of change regarding a habit, or practice, or relationship or any other activity that is not healthy for you.The Bible also said it was a warning that God gave to the Magi. This may alsos be a warning to someone, not a mere suggestion. Listen carefully to find some good helps that will enable you to go another way.

Msgr. James Watkins beautifully captures the heart of Christmas this year: embracing the Christ Child. During his homily, he tenderly holds a parishioner's baby—a powerful and poignant image that says it all. May we, too, embrace the Christ Child this #Christmas

Deacon Dan Diesel proclaims the Gospel (Luke 2:1-14) and Father Thomas Naval breaks open the word on Christmas Eve. Stay for the special bonus track at the end: "O Holy Knight" by Fr Thomas and the Santiago Choir. Words for your Way from Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church in Lake Forest, California.

12-25-2025Pastor Joel Kaiser

Friends of the Rosary,Today, Christmas Eve, the end of Advent, is a day of much joyous expectation, with families gathered in a Silent and Holy Night. It's the anticipation of the arrival of the Savior of the Human race, the Light of the World.The liturgy proclaims, "Today you shall know that the Lord shall come and tomorrow you shall see His glory."Throughout Advent, we have seen how the preparation for Jesus' coming was heralded by Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mother.The King of Kings, according to His human nature, was born at Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary and conceived of the Spirit of holiness.Since our first parents were cast forth from the earthly paradise, the gate of eternity was closed. The Redeemer alone opens this door and enters in. On Christmas Eve, we stand before the gate of paradise, as the Psalm 23 of the vigil states,Lift up your gates, O princes,Open wide, eternal gates,That the King of Glory may enter inWith a quiet mind, we devote ourselves to the great mystery of the Holy Night, with our prayer, the Christmas carols, and the tradition of the exchange of gifts, after the Christ-Child has been placed in the manger in Bethlehem.Then on Midnight Mass, we can concentrate on the Greatest Gift given to all: the love of Christ.Ave MariaCome, Holy Spirit, come!To Jesus through Mary!Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.Please give us the grace to respond with joy!+ Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New YorkEnhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app:Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play• December 24, 2025, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

On the day our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, most of the world didn't even notice. The question all of us should ask ourselves is this: How often do we make room in our lives for Jesus? In the midst of our hectic schedules, with all that's going on between work and family and all the rest of it, how much time do we carve out to spend with the Creator of the universe? Ron shares some great insight on this very subject next, as he continues his teaching series, “The Art of Christmas.”   

In this episode, we end our journey at the Stable, the humble place where God chose for us to meet His Son. We reflect on the stable of our own hearts, how Jesus chooses to meet us in our own poverty now, and why His very presence brings healing. We also talk about how when we sit in our emptiness, release control, and surrender each part of our lives to God, He is able to work more powerfully in our lives. Finally, we ponder Mary's quiet and loving gaze upon the Christ Child and how we are invited to slow down and notice Jesus smiling back at us.  Friends, we've deeply enjoyed journeying with you this year. As we take a break, please know you are in our prayers. We will see you on January 19th, 2026 when Season 18 begins! Have a blessed and merry Christmas!   Heather's One Thing - Our Abiding Together staff: Camille, Kate, and Kristina! Heather's Other One Thing - The Sisters of Life new St. Francis convent in Steubenville Heather's Third One Thing - Every Sacred Sunday's Edition of the  Catechism of the Catholic Church Sister Miriam's One Thing - Our listeners and Patreon supporters. Thank you! Sister Miriam's Other One Thing - Philosophy and Healing (with Fr. Matthew Rolling) from the Restore the Glory Podcast Michelle's One Thing - The beauty of the different religious orders!   Finally, we arrive at the Stable — the poorest of places, and yet, the holiest of all. Here, in straw and silence, the Infinite takes on skin. The cry of a newborn splits the night open, and suddenly, everything is sacred again The invitation into the mess  Into our own poverty… The cry of our humanity … Worship is not what we think it will look like.    Other Resources Mentioned:  The Nativity Painting by Caravaggio Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You by Dr. James Friesen   Journal Questions: Where do I find myself in "unsatisfactory condition"? What are the scandalous places within me that I want to keep away from the Lord? How am I managing my own creativity rather than welcoming the Holy Spirit into my creativity? What beliefs am I carrying deeply about God? How does God want to heal these beliefs? Where am I afraid? How can I make space for Jesus and spend time with Him in this Christmas season?   Discussion Questions: How are you tempted to sanitize the Mystery of the Incarnation in your own life? Where in my life do I need a new perspective? When have you experienced God coming to you in a way you weren't expecting Him to? How am I seeking control in this season? How can I surrender that control? What are the stables of my life that God is inviting me into deeper surrender?   Quote to Ponder: "I am so glad Jesus was born in a stable, because my soul is so much like a stable. It's poor and in unsatisfactory condition - Yet, I believe that if Jesus can be born in a stable, maybe he can be born in me." (Dorothy Day)   Scripture for Lectio: "In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she 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." (Luke 2:1-7)   Sponsor - Fully Mediterranean: Our sponsor today is Fully Mediterranean, a company dedicated to helping people discover the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, a way of eating and living that is both deeply nourishing and beautifully simple. At Fully Mediterranean, they believe that good health and good food go hand in hand—and that both of these begin in the same place: around the table, where we slow down, gather, connect, and are reminded of God's goodness in the everyday moments of life. It's where we feed not only our bodies, but also our relationships. And it's often where we rediscover joy, connection, and presence. Fully Mediterranean was built on a mission to help people discover a simple, nourishing way of eating and living—a way that brings peace, beauty, and balance into everyday. Their approach is not about pressure or perfection. It's about gently integrating habits that help you live fully, with a sense of gratitude and mindfulness that aligns beautifully with our Catholic faith. What makes the Mediterranean lifestyle so special is that it's not just a way of eating; it's a way of living. It's a lifestyle shaped by mindfulness, by community, and by gratitude. It's about slowing down, savoring what God provides, and sharing meals with the people He places in our lives. It's about choosing foods that nourish the body He entrusted to us—vibrant  vegetables, wholesome grains, fresh herbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats—while also embracing the joy and connection that come from preparing and enjoying meals with others. Fully Mediterranean provides practical, realistic tools, guidance, and inspiration to help you bring these values into your kitchen and everyday life. Through recipes, programs, workshops, and practical nutrition guidance, we help women simplify healthy eating, feel confident in the kitchen, and rediscover the joy that comes from preparing meals that are both good for the body and soul-satisfying. In a world filled with noise, pressure, and quick fixes, the Mediterranean lifestyle offers something gentler and more grounded—an invitation to live intentionally, joyfully, and wholeheartedly. It encourages us to choose foods that honor the bodies God created, to gather more often with the people we love, and to find celebration in simple, nourishing routines. Whether you're looking to support your long-term health, gain energy for your daily responsibilities, or create more meaningful rhythms in your home, Fully Mediterranean is here to guide you every step of the way. We want to help you build a lifestyle that supports your well-being and draws you closer to living the full, abundant life God desires for you.  Because at Fully Mediterranean, we believe that when you nourish your body well, you nourish every part of your life. And when you gather at the table with gratitude, intention, and love, you reflect God's goodness in the most natural, beautiful way. If you're ready to bring more peace, health, and joy into your kitchen—and your life—we invite you to explore all that Fully Mediterranean offers. Discover delicious recipes, practical tips, and inspiring resources designed to help you integrate the Mediterranean way of living into your daily routine with ease and grace. Join us and use the code Abidingtogether20 to receive 20% off any of our products, including our course, ebooks and Substack membership. Join the 30-day Mediterranean challenge starting January 1st for just $8. Visit us at www.fullymediterranean.com, Substack: fullymediteranean.com.substack.com and @fullymediterranean   Chapters:   00:00 Fully Mediterranean  01:37 Intro 02:30 Welcome to the Stable 05:56 Guiding Quote and Scripture Verse 07:12 The Poverty of Our Hearts 11:26 Surrendering the Messy Parts of Our Lives 15:30 Healing Our Image of God 19:31 What it Means to Ponder 21:37 Making Space in the Midst of a Busy Season 28:27 Season 18 Announcement! 28:58 One Things   Music used under license i94Cr0 

Mother Miriam Live - December 22nd, 2025 Mother reads a story titled "Waiting for the Christ Child," by Michael Matt. Mother responds to emails and YouTube comments on the topics of spending too much time on secular Christmas traditions, gender dysphoria, the SSPX, and more.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, but He also works in providential ways. We know the Lord has done miracles. We read about them in Scripture, and some of us may have experienced one in our own lives. But much of the time, God works providentially, which is to say He works behind the scenes. Pastor Ron shares a great example of the providential work of God today, as he moves ahead in his teaching series, “The Art of Christmas.”  

"Christ is Coming"Malachi 3:1 NIV  “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.  Malachi is a Hebrew name meaning "my messenger" famously belonging to the last Old Testament prophet who delivered God's final messages before a long silence, calling Israel to repentance and foretelling the coming of the Messiah, Our Lord, Our Savior.  Advent: Latin word “adventus,” the word advent means “arrival” or “coming.” First Week of Advent:Theme: Hope (Hope Candle or Prophet's Candle).Theme: Peace (Peace Candle, Love Candle, or Bethlehem Candle).Theme: Joy (Joy Candle or Shepherd's Candle).Special Name: Gaudete Sunday, emphasizing rejoicing.Theme: Love (Love Candle of The Angel Candle) Christmas Day, which marks the culmination of the Advent season,and the central Christ Candle on the Advent wreath is typically lit on this day to symbolize the birthof Jesus, the Light of the World.Second Week of Advent:Third Week of Advent:Fourth Week of Advent: The prophecy here reveals the Christ Child that did come and also foretells the One who shall also return.  12/21/25 Misty Creek Community ChurchSermon message by Jeff Willis

In this week's Advent message, we turn to the quiet but powerful story of Simeon, a man who spent his life waiting for God to keep a promise. When he finally holds the Christ Child in the temple, his waiting erupts into joy fulfilled—the deep gladness that comes when the King proves Himself faithful. Simeon shows us that joy isn't about ideal circumstances but about trusting a God who keeps His word. Join us as we explore how his encounter with Jesus invites us into that same unshakeable joy.

Merry Christmas Parkwood Family! Today, Pastor Scott will be preaching through Zechariah's Prophecy of the Promised One in the Christ-Child found in Luke 1:67-79. The main idea of the sermon is: Jesus Christ, the promised one, has come to redeem his people and deliver them from their enemies. ————————  Connect with Us: Website: parkwoodonline.org Facebook: facebook.com/parkwoodonline Instagram: instagram.com/parkwoodonline.org  Check out more resources and sermons online at: parkwoodresources.org

Thomas Hardison brings a message from Luke 2:7-21 reflecting on the ultimate act of God's love.  The birth of the Christ Child.

If the truth leads us down a totally different path, we should follow it. The Magi followed the star, willing to reject their own religion, to worship the Christ Child. In this message, Pastor Lutzer highlights four barriers they overcame to worship Jesus. Will we honestly seek the King as they did? To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/172/29?v=20251111

If the truth leads us down a totally different path, we should follow it. The Magi followed the star, willing to reject their own religion, to worship the Christ Child. In this message, Pastor Lutzer highlights four barriers they overcame to worship Jesus. Will we honestly seek the King as they did? Moody Church Media [https://www.moodymedia.org/], home of "Running To Win," exists to bring glory to God through the transformation of lives.  Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, where he served as Senior Pastor for 36 years. He is a prolific author of over seventy books. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on "Running To Win" and "Songs In The Night," with programs broadcasting on over a thousand outlets in the U.S. and across more than fifty countries in seven languages. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.    SUPPORT:  Tax Deductible Support: https://www.moodymedia.org/donate/  Become an Endurance Partner: https://endurancepartners.org/    SUBSCRIBE:   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MoodyChurchMedia  Daily Devotional and Weekly Digest: https://www.moodymedia.org/newsletters/subscription/ 

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121825.cfmFather Matthew, Tomeny, MIC reflects on St. Joseph — the silent guardian of the Holy Family — and the mystery that unfolded when God entrusted him with Mary and the Christ Child. The Gospel tells us Joseph was “a righteous man” (Mt 1:19; NABRE), not because he had all the answers, but because he responded to God with humility, reverence, and obedience. Faced with a situation beyond human explanation, Joseph chose mercy over judgment and trust over control.Father Matthew explores the Church's rich tradition on Joseph's response to Mary's pregnancy. Rather than suspicion, many saints and theologians saw in Joseph a profound reverential fear — a recognition that he was standing before the work of the Holy Spirit. Like St. Peter who said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Lk 5:8; NABRE), Joseph considered himself unworthy to be so close to such holiness. His desire to step back was not rejection, but awe.God, however, reveals Joseph's role through the angel: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home” (Mt 1:20; NABRE). Joseph's obedience gives Jesus His legal lineage as Son of David and provides the Holy Family with protection and stability. Though he never speaks a word in Scripture, Joseph's faith speaks loudly.As Christmas approaches, this homily invites us to imitate St. Joseph — to stop striving for control and allow Christ to dwell in the home of our hearts. True righteousness is found not in understanding everything, but in humbly saying "yes" when God asks us to make room for Him. ★ Support this podcast ★

Diane helps us think about this time of Advent as not just a time to remember what happened 2000 years ago but also preparation for today and for this unknown time of Jesus coming again.  Diane Olsen has been involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 1990. She has received all formation levels and was recognized as a formation leader in 2002. She is actively involved leading catechist formation around the country. Diane has a philosophy and math degree from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies-Catechesis of the Good Shepherd from the Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Missouri. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother.    Links for this Episode:  The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Year Olds  History of the Kingdom of God Part 1: Creation to Parouisa  Episode 42 – The Mystery of Time  Episode 104 – Incarnation and the Annunciation      Thank you to all our members and our donors who have given to the 2025-26 Annual Appeal and Tina Lillig Memorial Fund. Your donations make it possible for CGSUSA to expand formation opportunities, give mission courses, invest in technology, create catechist and parent resources and publications, and offer many wonderful events that build our catechist community. All of these initiatives help us serve children with love and generosity. The revenue generated from membership fees covers about 55 percent of the cost of the benefits of membership, so philanthropy is essential to delivering excellent support to catechists, ministry leaders, families, and children. To find out more or make a gift, please visit www.cgsusa.org/donate. Thank you!    Podcast Episodes you might be interested in:    Episode 27 – The Mystery of the Incarnation  Episode 53 – The Birth and Infancy of Jesus  Episode 104 – Incarnation and the Annunciation  Episode 105 – Welcoming the Christ Child as a Sacred Act  Episode 128 – CGS Advent in the Home  Episode 129 – The Family in Advent  Episode 132 – The Depth of the Christmas Season      The Religious Potential of the Child  CGSUSA Store      BECOME A CGSUSA MEMBER          AUDIOBOOK:    Audiobook – Now Available on Audible  CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz!  The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child's spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook.    Find out more about CGS:       Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd     Follow us on Social Media-  Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”  Instagram-  cgsusa  Twitter- @cgsusa  Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA  YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd 

Episode Notes The previous podcast of Cross Over the Bridge is His invitation to follow the Christ Child's path into a new realm of oneness next year. As you reflected on that invitation, you requested more. So, He welcomes you into the message and truth of Receive My Baby Heart and the following podcast of Bethlehem's Let Go and Go There. May this season be saturated with His endless heart of love, my friends.

Episode Notes The podcast of Cross Over the Bridge is His invitation to follow the Christ Child's path into a new realm of oneness next year. As you reflected on that invitation, you requested more. So, He welcomes you into the message and truth of His Baby Heart and the podcast of Bethlehem's Let Go and Go There. May this season be saturated with His endless heart of love, my friends.

Today we trace the roots of Santa Claus back to the real Saint Nicholas, a bold Christian leader known for generosity and standing firm in faith. It explores how the modern Santa evolved and challenges us to look beyond the commercial image to the true meaning behind the names Kris Kringle and Christkindl—pointing us to the Christ Child. 

In just 17 more days - NEAR the Arctic Circle, people will gather in Skarsvag, Norway at the one church in town for Christmas Eve. The temperature is forecast to be MINUS 4 degrees. They are expecting more snow that night. They will also be expecting the presence of God - who will be here also. They will look forward to the birth of the Christ Child once more just as we will. It's going to be cold. It's going to be exciting.  Hear the voice of John crying out in the wilderness.  Prepare the WAY.  Jesus is Coming.

ADVENT WEEK TWO: PEACEDecember 9 Rev. Mike MillerPeace in the PreparationsJohn 14:1-31Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as theworld gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them beafraid. John 14:27As Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He spoke these words inJohn 14:27. He knew fear and uncertainty would soon overwhelm them. Andyet, in the midst of impending chaos, Jesus left them with peace. This peacewasn't the absence of conflict but the presence of calm in the storm. It is asettled assurance rooted in trust.Advent invites us to prepare ourselves to receive that same peace. While theworld around us may pulse with anxiety, and distractions, or self-imposedpressure to create the “perfect” Christmas Eve service, or to keep the peacebetween warring family members as the mediator, Jesus reminds us thatthere is peace.This peace doesn't depend on circumstances. It's not earned through effortor found in a quiet room or when we do everything “right.” But it is a peace ofpresence. It is the peace that reminds us that no matter what is going on inthe world and in our lives that we can look to Jesus and find peace.As we wait in expectation for the coming of the Christ Child, may we also re-ceive this gift of peace with open hearts. May we be reminded that this gift ofpeace is not here just for a moment, but is here for every season, every strug-gle, and every heart.In the quiet of Advent, we pause to remember the promise of peace, notthe fragile, fleeting kind the world offers, but the deep, enduring peace thatcomes from above. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are you dreaming of this Christmas? Most believers are not worldly, and we know the reason for this season, are you one of these believers? Praise The Lord! Simeon was a believer just like you who was dreaming of a White Christmas, the promised Messiah who would come and make us white as snow. He was dreaming and hoping in this promise of God, and this beautiful dream and promise was revealed in Jesus as Simeon held The Christ Child in his arms. Today He is not a Child, but the Christ who is knocking on the door of our hearts, to make all of His promises a reality. What are you dreaming of this Christmas? Are you holding on to Christ The Savior? I'm dreaming of a Christmas where the reality of our sins being washed clean shines brighter than snow.Stay tuned, this reality is coming your way.

I love Christmas!  It is an outrageous celebration, outrageously expensive, and, without a doubt, absolutely distorted from the real ‘reason for the season.'  The truth is, many in America and around the world don't have a clue about the real reason for this season of celebrations, decorations, donations, and gift-giving!  Some think it's all about the myth of Santa Claus and his sleigh, delivering toys to kids around the world.  Others think it's just a clever marketing strategy by business owners, hoping to sell record numbers of toys, dolls, and children's clothing for children of every age.  And, not so surprisingly, there are a faithful number who remember the ‘reason for the season,' which is, of course, the birth of the Christ Child, Jesus.     Jesus was the prophesied Messiah, who was God's ‘cure' for the fatal disease of the sin of humanity.  We were created in purity and innocence by the hand of God, and he intended that we would live with him into eternity, in a loving, nurturing relationship.  He would bless us and teach us the wonders of the universe, and we would all, literally, “live happily ever after!”  Unfortunately, it was not too long before man rejected God's leadership and chose to disobey God, thus causing a separation between man and God.  Mankind was cast out of the Garden of Eden and was destined to live apart from God, struggling for an existence on a now-unfriendly planet.  There was nothing man could do to ‘fix' the problem, no matter how hard he tried.  It was over almost as soon as it began!  The ways of sin consumed us all, and we as a people have struggled for joy in this life ever since.     But God wasn't finished with us!  In his wisdom, he set in motion a plan to save sinful man: There would come an anointed one, Jesus the Messiah, who would be born through a miraculous conception, by a young woman, Mary, and her husband, Joseph.  This special child would grow to live a perfect life and give himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sin when he was crucified on the cross.  This sacrifice would cover the stain of our sin and would, once again, enable all mankind to walk with God.  God's plan was that man might come to him and confess his sin, and turn over the leadership of his life to the God who created us all.  In this ‘gift' of the Messiah, and what came to be called the Salvation of God, He began to work, re-creating man in the image of his son, the Messiah, Jesus.  By this process, God would cleanse us of sin, give us a new heart, and create within us the desire and ability to live a new life, which is the old life that God originally planned.  This is the “reason for the season;' which is a truly outrageous gift!               Let me encourage you to celebrate this outrageous season by receiving the wonderful gift of Salvation through the Christ Child, the One who grew to become Jesus, the Savior of the World.  God loves you, desires to save you and give you a new life, and uses you to bless those in your life.  This is the very best life for you, because it is the life you were created to live!   Your financial support is the backbone of our ministry, providing funding for outreach, facility upkeep, and essential resources. Your generosity fuels our mission and makes a real impact. Give here: https://firstbaptistofindependence.aware3.net/give/   Stay updated by downloading our App: https://a3a.me/firstbaptistofindependence or liking our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/1stBaptist/. These platforms keep you engaged and connected.   Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to this journey with you—see you next week!

"Hear, O Israel, The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Deuteronomy 6:4    Submit a Podcast Listener Question HERE!    Podcasts by Series  Level One Book Study  Level Two Book Study    As we begin our Advent journey—a time of waiting with the children—we hear the message of the prophets, calling us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus and for the fulfillment of the history of the Kingdom of God at the Parousia. Today, Donna Turner helps us ponder the great richness of the prophets and their prophecies for both us and the child.  Donna Turner is a Level III catechist and Formation Leader. She is the Co-Director of the Good Shepherd Center-Memphis, TN, and the volunteer coordinator of CGS at St. Philip Episcopal Church-Memphis. Donna serves CGSUSA as a member of the Formation Advisory Council and the Episcopal Committee. She lives in Germantown, TN.    History of the Kingdom of God Part 1: Creation to Parouisa    Thank you to all our members and our donors who have given to the 2025-26 Annual Appeal and Tina Lillig Memorial Fund. Your donations make it possible for CGSUSA to expand formation opportunities, give mission courses, invest in technology, create catechist and parent resources and publications, and offer many wonderful events that build our catechist community. All of these initiatives help us serve children with love and generosity. The revenue generated from membership fees covers about 55 percent of the cost of the benefits of membership, so philanthropy is essential to delivering excellent support to catechists, ministry leaders, families, and children. To find out more or make a gift, please visit www.cgsusa.org/donate. Thank you!    Podcast Episodes you might be interested in:    Episode 27 – The Mystery of the Incarnation  Episode 53 – The Birth and Infancy of Jesus  Episode 104 – Incarnation and the Annunciation  Episode 105 – Welcoming the Christ Child as a Sacred Act  Episode 128 – CGS Advent in the Home  Episode 129 – The Family in Advent  Episode 132 – The Depth of the Christmas Season      The Religious Potential of the Child  CGSUSA Store      BECOME A CGSUSA MEMBER          AUDIOBOOK:    Audiobook – Now Available on Audible  CGSUSA is excited to offer you the audio version of The Religious Potential of the Child – 3rd Edition by Sofia Cavalletti, read by Rebekah Rojcewicz!  The Religious Potential of the Child is not a “how-to” book, complete with lesson plans and material ideas. Instead it offers a glimpse into the religious life of the atrium, a specially prepared place for children to live out their silent request: “Help me come closer to God by myself.” Here we can see the child's spiritual capabilities and perhaps even find in our own souls the child long burdened with religious information. This book serves as a companion to the second volume, The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 Years Old. The desire to have this essential text available in audio has been a long-held goal for many. The work of many hands has combined to bring this release to life as an audiobook.    Find out more about CGS:       Learn more about the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd     Follow us on Social Media-  Facebook at “The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd”  Instagram-  cgsusa  Twitter- @cgsusa  Pinterest- Natl Assoc of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA  YouTube- catechesisofthegoodshepherd 

Free Advent Guide: Are you looking to deepen your prayer life this season? Download our free guide to Carmelite spirituality to help you navigate Advent with purpose: https://midnightcarmelite.com/reset Is silence just empty space, or is it something more? In our modern world, we often view silence as a vacuum—an absence of noise. But true spiritual silence is actually a form of active receptivity. Just as you must be silent to truly hear a friend or imagine a story while reading, you must cultivate interior silence to perceive the reality of God. In the hustle of the holiday season, it is easy to miss the Incarnation if we are not prepared to listen. In this week's episode of Midnight Carmelite, we explore how to prepare for the feast of the Incarnation. We look to the Nativity story—where Christ was born into a silence—as our guide. We also discuss the practical tool of mortification. Far from being a negative practice, we frame mortification as the "shovel" used to clear the stable of our hearts, while our good deeds become the straw that cushions the manger for the Christ Child. In this episode, you will learn: The definition of Active Receptivity: Why silence is not a void, but a necessary state of listening for God's disclosure.Lessons from the Nativity: How the humility of the shepherds and Magi allowed them to notice what the rest of the world missed.The "Shovel" and the "Straw": A practical metaphor for using mortification to remove worldly attachments and good deeds to welcome the Lord.Practical Advent Steps: How to replace distractions (like excessive shopping) with ten minutes of Scripture and silence.

Like Mary, we as believers are asked to carry something for the Lord. Like Mary, our first question is often, “How can this be?” We may feel entirely unqualified, but that is also the point! The Holy Spirit is promised to come upon us and the power of the Most High will overshadow us. We don't have to try to control, we don't have to try to analyze, we just have to trust Him and obey what He has told us to do. He has it figured out. He has it under control. Mary was called to carry the Christ Child. The disciples were called to carry the gospel. What has God asked you to carry?   PRE-ORDER HOLY GHOSTED HERE! https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Ghosted-Teaches-Surviving-Spiritual/dp/1636415431    Monologue: Autumn shares her deep gratitude and appreciation for you and the ways you have ministered to Autumn and the team.   Message: Autumn empowers believers to believe that we don't have to try to control or analyze HOW God will have us carry out our calling, but just to trust that His power and Spirit will come upon us and overshadow us so that we can.     Question: “What qualities should a woman have to minister to others? What sins or struggles would disqualify someone from serving?”    Bible References Luke 1:26-38 Isaiah 7:10-14 Acts 1:4-8   Links from the show BOOKS: www.autumnmiles.com/resources SPEAKING: www.autumnmiles.com/speaking MERCH: autumnmiles.square.site   If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the show, send us an email at hello@autumnmiles.com   If you have a suggestion for the ministry, a question for Autumn, a testimony to share, or other inquiry for the Autumn Miles Ministries, click here and fill out the form, or send us an email at hello@autumnmiles.com    Join us on social media! Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheAutumnMiles/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/autumnmiles/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AutumnMiles   Click here to join our weekly and monthly newsletters and get updates on our podcast and exclusive content!

Jesus is born. Wonder, peace and joy accompany. Mom and dad present their first born son as a servant to the Lord, a dedication of sorts at the temple. A sacrifice. What we see is generosity is a sacrifice. Then we meet some seekers. Simeon and Ana, and they see with their own eyes what they had been searching for their whole lives. A lifetime of seeking. What we also see is what you seek sets the course of your life.

Pastor shares about the Christ Child today.

In this new series, we will look at various identities in Christ:Child of God

Elaine Heath is the abbess of Spring Forest, a new monastic community in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Spring Forest centers around communal prayer and meals, a vibrant farm, refugee support, and other ministries you can read about here. You can learn more about Elaine's work as an author and speaker on her website, or in articles like this one from the Center for Action and Contemplation.Many thanks to Elaine and her husband Randall for welcoming Ron and I and our audio producer, Colin, to the farm last June. Besides relishing the good company of our hosts, we enjoyed harvesting cabbage, feasting and praying with the Sunday evening group, walking through the woods, and petting some good-natured goats.Dr. Elaine HeathOn the farm.Someone had to help harvest the cabbage, so Ron and Colin and I pitched in.Elaine, husband Randall, and I in their lovely home.TRANSCRIPTElaine Heath If you are nurtured by traditional church—or let's say, conventional church—keep doing it, but also realize that for other people that's not nurturing. It feels dry and lifeless, and it's clear the Spirit is doing something new. So instead of insisting everybody stop doing the new thing, and everybody has to come and do the conventional thing, you can be conventional in your worship and bless and make space for others so that we have a plethora of experiments going on.Debra Rienstra Welcome to the Refugia Podcast. I'm your host, Professor Debra Rienstra. Refugia are habitats in nature where life endures in times of crisis. We're exploring the concept of refugia as a metaphor, discovering how people of faith can become people of refugia: nurturing life-giving spaces in the earth, in our human cultural systems, and in our spiritual communities, even in this time of severe disturbance. This season, we're paying special attention to churches and Christian communities who have figured out how to address the climate crisis together as an essential aspect of their discipleship.Today, I'm excited to introduce you to Dr. Elaine Heath. Elaine is founder and abbess of Spring Forest, a new monastic community centered on a 23-acre forest and farm property near Hillsboro, North Carolina. The farm supplies a CSA and supports food security for refugees and serves as the setting for outdoor programs for kids, cooking classes, potlucks, forest walks and more. But the Spring Forest community is a dispersed network of people who move in and out of the farm space in a variety of ways. They live on the farm for a time, they visit often to volunteer, or they simply join the community online for daily prayer. We got to visit the farm last spring, and I can tell you that Elaine's long experience with new monasticism, trauma-informed care, and contemplative practice make her an ideal curator of refugia space. The vibe on the farm is peaceful, orderly, and full of life. It's a place of holy experimentation in new ways to form Christian community and reconnect with the land. Let's get to it.Debra Rienstra Elaine, thank you for talking with me today. It's really great to be with you.Elaine Heath Yeah, I'm glad to be with you too.Debra Rienstra So you served in traditional parish ministry and in religious academia for many years, and then in 2018 you retired from that work to found Spring Forest. Why a farm and a new monastic community? What inspired and influenced this particular expression of faith?Elaine Heath I've always loved farms and forests. But actually, my dream to do this started about 25 years ago, and my husband and I bought a 23 acre property in North Central Ohio, right when I was right out of my PhD program and I got my first academic job at my alma mater, which is Ashland Theological Seminary. So I went there to direct the Doctor of Ministry program, and we bought this beautiful property. It had a little house that looked like the ranger station, and it had a stream and a big labyrinth cut in the field, and it had beautiful soil to grow, you know, for market gardening. And what we planned to do was gradually develop retreat ministries there. My husband was going to build some hermitages up in the woods, because I did a lot of spiritual direction with pastors who were burned out and traumatized, and we felt like that, you know, as I got older and phased out of academia, that would be something we could do together.So we were there for a couple years, and then I was recruited to go to Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. And we were very sad to leave our property behind, but we were clear that we were being called to Texas. So we bought a home in the city in a sort of mixed income, racially diverse neighborhood in Garland, and it was a big house with a nice yard, and soon after starting to teach evangelism—which, I kind of created my own path for how to teach evangelism, because I don't believe in selling Jesus or any of those kinds of colonizing things. So I was teaching about living a contemplative life and practicing social and environmental justice and being good news in the world, and being good neighbors to all our neighbors, and thinking of our neighbors as us and not them. And I had them reading Shane Claiborne and the people writing with the emerging church movement at the time, and pretty soon, I had students in my class coming to my office every week. It was a different student, but the same tears and the same kind of narrative: “Dr. Heath, I think I'm going to have to leave the church to answer my call. Tell me what I should do.” And it was because they were being called to do innovative, new monastic ministry, missional, new monastic kinds of things. But our denomination in particular didn't quite get it, even though early Methodism was very much like that.So I realized fairly quickly that this was God calling me through these students to focus my research and writing and my teaching in the area of emergence. Emergence theory, what's happening in the world. How do these currents of emergence intersect with what's happening politically and environmentally, and what's happening, you know, in the economy and with the church. So pretty soon, I don't know, it wasn't very long, I felt God was calling me to gather students and start some experiments outside, out in the city. And so I had a prayer partner, and we were praying for a house to come available, so that we could start a new monastic house. And she came to me one day and she said, “I saw the house coming. It'll be here soon.” And I said, “Okay.” I had no money for a house. You know, kind of a lowly professor, didn't make that much. And within two weeks, one of our neighbors came to me, who didn't really know me well at all, and said, “Hey, my mom has a rental property. It's been in our family for a long time, and we wondered if you might have some students that would like to live there. We won't even charge rent, just pay their utilities and not have drug parties or whatnot.” And I said, “No, that's unlikely,” you know. So I said, you know, I could throw the phone down and ran down to get in her car and go over to this house with her. And we were driving over, and she says, “You know, it's not the best neighborhood.” I said, “Perfect!” But we got there, and it was a really great little three bedroom house in a predominantly Latina neighborhood, and that was our first new monastic house. So I asked three of the students who'd been crying in my office, “Would you be willing to break your leases wherever you live and come and live here for a year?” And I can assign a spiritual director to work with you, and I can write a curriculum for an independent study on the theory and practice of new monasticism. And we can develop a Rule of Life based on our United Methodist membership vows. And they all immediately said yes, and so that's how we got started with our first house.Elaine Heath And then right around the same time, I started a missional house church that was quickly relocated into the neighborhood where most of the refugees are resettled in Dallas, because one of my students brought six Congolese men to our little house church worship, and that that was the beginning of realizing we were called to work with refugees.Debra Rienstra Oh, I see.Elaine Heath So that all got started around 2008. And by 2009, there was a student who came to Perkins who had been a commercial real estate banker on Wall Street. And he came to Perkins as a student. He was an older man. And we were going on my very first pilgrimage to Iona, Northumbria, and Lindisfarne, and Michael Hahn was with us too. He and I team-taught this class, so it was my first one. But it turned out that Larry Duggins, the student, had come to seminary because he really wanted to be equipped to help young adults who were feeling disillusioned with the church but wanted to be out in the world doing good work. And he started describing what he was called to, and I'm like, “Well, that's what I'm doing with these students.” So we joined forces and created a nonprofit called Missional Wisdom Foundation, and within three years, we had a network of eight new monastic communities across the metroplex. They were all anchored at local churches. Some of them were parsonages that weren't being used. And we wove into the expectations and sort of the lifestyle of those houses, urban agriculture.Debra Rienstra Oh, I was waiting for the farm to come back into it. Yeah, because I'm seeing these threads of experimentation and monasticism and place. We're sitting here today on your current farm land. So it's really interesting to hear all these threads being developed early on in an urban context.Elaine Heath Yes, it was quite something. These houses were all in different social contexts. There was one house, the Bonhoeffer house, that was in East Dallas, in a neighborhood that was not only mixed income and racially diverse, but also used to be where the mayor lived. And now there are people who are unhoused living there, and there are also people with nice houses living there. So it was a very interesting neighborhood. So that house, we learned quickly that you needed to take a year to get to know the neighborhood before you try to figure out how you're going to support whatever justice work needs to happen in the neighborhood. But that house got really close with the unhoused community and did a lot of good ministry with the guys and a few women. Then there was one for undocumented workers, the Romero House, and just different social contexts. But all of them had a backyard garden or, you know, some type of growing food kind of thing. And I used to take students to this farm that was an urban farm in DeSoto, which is just south of Dallas, where it was quite small, but these were former missionaries, the type that have crusades and show the Jesus film and everything in sort of poor countries. And then they had an awakening that happened, and they realized they were being called to help people in orphanages learn how to grow their own food in a sustainable way and raise the living standard for the whole village. So they had this little farm, and I would take students there every semester to experience the conversion of thought that this couple had over what mission is, and to experience the beauty and joy of tilapia that provide food for the lettuce, that provide for the bees, you know. So this closed system. So that also affected my imagination about what I really wanted to do in the future.And so gradually, the years—we were there for 11 years, and we lived in community the whole time that we were there. By the time we came here for me to work at Duke, we had a very clear picture of what we wanted to do here. And so we looked for the property back when we had to sell that first farm, when we were so sad about selling it, I had an experience in prayer where I sensed God was saying to me, “Don't give up on this dream. It's sacred, and it will happen in the future on a better piece of property, at a better time in your life for this.” And so when it was time to move here, I said to Randall, “This is the time. Let's look for that property.” So that's how we landed here.Friendly, very contented dairy goats, hanging out in the afternoon.Debra Rienstra Yeah. When talking about your students, you mentioned yesterday that you like to “ruin them for fake church.” So what do you mean by fake church, and how exactly do you ruin them for it?Elaine Heath Well, you know, church is really the people and not the building. You all know that. It's the people and we're called to be a very different kind of people who are a healing community, that neighbor well, that give ourselves away, that regard our neighbors—human and non human—as part of us, whether they think they're part of us or not. We have this sort of posture in life. And when I think of how Jesus formed the church, Jesus had this little ragtag group of friends, and they traveled around and did stuff and talked about it, and they got mad at each other and had power struggles and drama and, you know, and then Jesus would process the drama with them. And he would do these outrageous things, you know, breaking sort of cultural taboo to demonstrate: this is what love really looks like. And so we don't get to do much of any of that, sitting in a pew on Sunday morning, facing forward while the people up in the front do things. And so many churches—maybe you've never experienced this, but I certainly have. The pastor's sort of the proxy disciple while people kind of watch and make judgments and decide whether or not they want to keep listening to those sermons.Debra Rienstra Oh yes.Elaine Heath So when you experience Christian life in a community where it's both natural, it's just the way you live in the world, and it's also liturgically rich, and the life is a contemplative life, and it's also a life of deep missional engagement with the world— that other version of church, it's like oatmeal with no flavoring in it. It makes you, I mean, it's about the life together. It's how we live in this world. It's not about sitting somewhere for an hour once a week and staring forward.Debra Rienstra Right. Yeah, so I would, you know, of course, I would describe what you're describing as refugia, being the people of refugia. You know? Not that I'm—we'll come back to traditional worship and traditional forms of faith and religion. But it seems like what you're doing is living into something you say on your website that we are in the midst of a new reformation in the church, and I certainly sense that too. I think the evidence is all around us, and the research bears out that we've reached this inflection point, and it's a painful inflection point that a lot of people think of as decline, because living through it feels confusing and bewildering and dark and full of loss. So what is your sense of when we are, in this point in history, in particular, for those of us who've been part of church communities, where are we finding ourselves? Why is it so confusing?Elaine Heath I really believe we're in a dark night of the soul as the church in the West and perhaps places in the East too. I know we've exported a capitalist version of church all over the world, sadly. But I believe we're in a dark night of the soul, you know, classically understood, where it's spirit-breathed. It's not that the devil is doing something to us. It's spirit-breathed to detach us from our sort of corporate ego that thinks we get to show up and boss the world around and act like we own the joint.Debra Rienstra We call that church of empire.Elaine Heath Yeah. And so I think that's what's happening. And when, you know, if you study the literature, if you work in spiritual direction, and you're looking at what happens with the dark night of the soul. That's a real dark night, not a clinical depression or something like that, but an actual dark night. You have to go through it. You can't bypass it. You can't work your way out of it. You can't talk your way out of it. And what happens is you find yourself increasingly hungry for simplicity, for a simple but clear experience of God, because it's like God's disappeared. There's a deep loneliness, even a sort of cold hell, to being in a dark night of the soul. And so there's a restlessness, there's a longing for actual experience of God. There's a feeling of futility. Things that used to work don't work anymore. So you know the threefold path? The purgation, illumination and union is one way that we've learned to think about what happens. The purgation part is— we're there.Debra Rienstra We're being purgated.Elaine Heath We're being purgated, yeah. And at the same time that we're having these flashes of intuitive knowing, this sort of illumination is coming. “Oh, let's pay attention to the saints and mystics who lived through things like this. What gave them life? What helped them to keep showing up and being faithful?” And we're having moments of union too, when we feel like, “Oh, discipleship means I make sure that the trees are cared for and not just people. Oh, all living things are interconnected. Quantum physics is teaching us a spiritual truth we should have known already.” So the three parts of that contemplative path are happening simultaneously. But I think what feels most forward to a lot of people is the purgation piece where you're like, “Oh, things are just dropping away. Numbers are dropping. Things that used to work don't work. What's going to happen now?” Sort of a sense of chaos, confusion. Tohu va bohu, yeah.Debra Rienstra Yeah, do you want me to explain what that is?Elaine Heath Yeah, chaos and confusion. From the beginning of time.Debra Rienstra It's the realm out of which creation is formed. So the idea that the spirit is drawing us into this dark night is actually really reassuring. We are where we're supposed to be. And even though it feels confusing and painful, there are these moments of wisdom—that's so reassuring. In fact, one of the things you write: the new reformation is all about the emergence. So this emergence is happening of a generous, hospitable, equitable form of Christianity that heals the wounds of the world. What is your vision about what the church needs to release and hold and create right now?Elaine Heath We need to release everything that even slightly has a hint of empire, that we have thought of as what it means to be the church, because that completely reverts what church is supposed to be about. So giving up empire, we need to take up the great kenotic hymn of Philippians two and actually live it.Debra Rienstra The self emptying hymn.Elaine Heath The self emptying. And it's not—I know that that can be problematic when we're thinking of women or, you know, groups that have been forced to empty themselves in an exploited way. But that's not really what that's all about. It's about showing up to God, paying attention, seeing what God's invitation is, then cooperating with that and just releasing the outcome. That's what that's about, and really finding out, what am I in this world for? What are we in this world for? And being about that and not about something else.Debra Rienstra Yeah, it's hard to release the ways that we have done things. Well, you have a congregation, you have a pastor, you have a sanctuary, you have programs, you want the kids to come, you need tithes, all of those systems. And actually, what you're doing here at Spring Forest—let's talk about that. What you're doing here at Spring Forest doesn't have any of that. Sunday services. There's no church building. You have barn buildings, you have farm buildings. No Sunday school, no adult ed, no choirs, organs, praise bands, any of that stuff, right? Do you think of Spring Forest as a new model for church? Perhaps one among many?Elaine Heath It's one among many. We're definitely shaped by traditional monasticism. We're shaped by early Methodism. We're influenced by the Catholic Worker Movement, and definitely Bonhoeffer's work and a number of others: the Clarence Jordan and Koinonia farms. And so we're influenced by all of those. We do have music sometimes at Forest Feast, if we have someone that can lead it, and, you know, do a good job. But the backbone of our worship life is morning and evening prayer. And that is so wonderful. You were here last night for Forest Feast, and we use the same structure we use for morning and evening prayer, and we have a group of about six people who are writing the liturgies for us, who have been writing for a year and a half now.Debra Rienstra Who are those people?Elaine Heath Well, there's Steve Taylor is our lay leader, and his wife, Cheryl, and then there's Donna Patterson, who's—none of them were here last night. They all had to go somewhere. But some of them are lay people. Some of them are clergy.Debra Rienstra And they don't live here?Elaine Heath No, they live— well, some of the people that write live far away, and they're in our digital community. But, yeah, Steve and Cheryl live in Lumberton, which is, you know, almost two hours away. But they're beautiful. I mean, if you go online and look at some of the last month, look at the prayers and see the—they're just truly beautiful, and they reflect our spirituality of our community.Debra Rienstra Yeah. So the community, it seems to me, you have had people living on the farm itself, but your community, like the Iona community, is both located here on this land, but also dispersed. And so you have that interaction, that conversation between this residential life. So let's try to describe for listeners: there's the farm. You live here with your husband. You have interns from Duke. You have a farm. What do you call Larry?Elaine Heath He's our farm coach.Debra Rienstra Coach, yes, I love that. They have the farm coach who has the farming knowledge that you all sort of follow. You have chefs. They don't live here either, but they come in. So you have a lot of people coming in and out on this farm. And you do regenerative farming. You have programs for kids, you have refugee support, and you can talk about that, trauma informed rest for spiritual leaders. And then a number of other things. The farm produces vegetables and those go to a CSA, and also a lot of it is donated. Why this particular assembly of activities? How does it all fit together? And what are the theological principles beneath each of these endeavors?Elaine Heath The overarching principle is that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to every believer and to every person, let's just be honest. And the job of the pastor, the pastor teacher, is to fan those gifts into flame, to help them have the support they need to use their gifts and that the ministries should be shaped by the gifts of the people, which means you can't use a cookie cutter. And we have numerically a small community, but incredibly high capacity of people. So we have these gifts that they have, and then the ministries are emerging out of those gifts. And it might seem like, why do you have refugee support? And you know, just name anything else we're doing. How does this fit together? The organizing principle—okay, so you have the foundation. These are gifts given by the Spirit. Our ministries are emerging from our gifts. And the organizing sort of a cohesive piece is our rule of life that ties everything together. And so our rule of life is prayer, work, table, neighbor and rest. And that rule of life came about after we lived here for a year, when we first started Spring Forest with—there was another pastor that co-founded it with me, Francis Kinyua, who's from Kenya, and he was my student in Dallas, and did all those other things with me. So we invited him to come. We had to work with three different bishops to kind of make it work. But it worked, you know. Anyway, we just waited for a year to see. We had lots of work to do with getting the farm ready to go and Francis and I went to Church World Service right away to say, “Hey, we have a lot of experience supporting refugees, and we would like to do that here as well.” So we got started with that, but we waited a year and then just articulated, what are the practices that we do that are keeping us grounded here and keeping us right side up. And it was those things, so we named it.Debra Rienstra Okay, you were just doing it, and then you named those things.Elaine Heath Instead of creating sort of an aspirational rule and tried to live into it, we named what was actually working, what was actually grounding us and felt life giving.Debra Rienstra Hi, it's me, Debra. If you are enjoying this podcast episode, go ahead and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. If you have a minute, leave a review. Good reviews help more listeners discover this podcast. To keep up with all the Refugia news, I invite you to subscribe to the Refugia newsletter on Substack. This is my fortnightly newsletter for people of faith who care about the climate crisis and want to go deeper. Every two weeks, I feature climate news, deeper dives, refugia sightings and much more. Join our community at refugianewsletter.substack.com. For even more goodies, including transcripts and show notes for this podcast, check out my website at debrarienstra.com. D-E-B-R-A-R-I-E-N-S-T-R-A dot com. Thanks so much for listening. We're glad you're part of this community. And now back to the interview.Debra Rienstra You do partner a lot with, you know, “regular church folk.” It's that sort of in-and-out permeable membrane. How do you think about the relationship of what you're doing here, with Spring Forest, with the work of sort of standard congregations, is there like a mutuality? How do you think about that?Elaine Heath It's just like traditional monasticism. You've got a community that have this rule of life they follow. People who are not living in the community can become Oblates to the rule of life and have a special relationship. And usually those people go to church somewhere else. Part of our ethic here is we want to resist competition between churches, so we don't meet on Sundays to do things like programmatically. We usually just rest on Sundays and watch a movie and eat popcorn, you know.Debra Rienstra That's a spiritual practice.Elaine Heath But also, so there's that sort of historic piece, and people from churches come here for retreats. Lead teams come for retreats. People come—pastors, we have a lot of pastors who come here for a retreat. But also we are a mission community, so we're very active with supporting refugees. We're very active with the food programs that we have, and that gives people from a church—lots of churches don't have things like that going on. They don't have the resources for it, or they haven't figured it out. But that way, we can partner with churches and people can come here and they can actually get their hands in the soil, and they can teach somebody to read, and they can see little children learning where food comes from. They can help the chef with her kitchen things, you know. So it's a wonderful way to provide spiritual formation and missional formation to congregations that don't have those resources. And we can do these things together.Debra Rienstra Yeah. And that's that's premised on this being a place, an embodied place, a refugia space that people can come to. Yeah. I think that's a wonderful model. Do you yourself ever feel a sense of loss for “the old ways?” And I'm just thinking of this because at the beginning of your book, God Unbound, which is about Galatians, you write about how Paul challenges the Galatians to let go of their tight grip on the past, and you write about how you, reading that, felt yourself like a little bit of a traditionalist, you know, sort of defending, “But what about the past? What about the old ways?” Which you have loved too, right? So, how would you counsel people who have loved traditional church despite everything, and really do feel this sense of loss and wonder anxiously about what's next?Elaine Heath Yeah, I feel empathy. You know, something was going on in the Middle East at the time. I can't remember exactly the situation. There's always something going on, but it had to do with people's culture being wiped out and being told that what they believed didn't count and wasn't right and everything. And I was feeling such grief for them, and then all of a sudden, you know, I'm in Galatians, and think, “Well, that's how those people felt.” And even myself, there are things in my own daily practice that are—they're precious to me. My way of praying in the morning, the facing into the forest, you know, and things like that, that are rituals for me. And thinking, you know, if somebody told me “that doesn't matter,” how hard that would be. So I think in the spiritual journey, we come to the place, if we keep maturing, where we realize, in Merton's words, that so often we think it's the finger pointing to the moon, we think the finger is the moon. And it's that way about rituals and all sorts of things that we do, and we get to a place where we realize that intellectually and even spiritually, in an emotional way. But you can't force people to get to that point. This is something that happens as we grow and mature as life goes by. So what I have said to many people is, “If you are nurtured by traditional church, or, let's say, conventional church,”—because which traditional church are we talking about? One, right here, middle class, white, are we talking about Brazil? —”So if that nurtures you, keep doing it. But also realize that for other people, that's not nurturing. It feels dry and lifeless, and it's clear the Spirit is doing something new.” So instead of insisting everybody stop doing the new thing, and everybody has to come and do the conventional thing, you can be conventional in your worship and bless and make space for others so that we have a plethora of experiments going on. Because we're in a time of great emergence, as Phyllis Tickle wrote, and we need lots of experiments.Debra Rienstra Yeah. I appreciated what you wrote about trial and error. It's a time of trial and error, and it's okay to try things and have them not work. And that fits the refugia model too, really, really well. I mean, refugia don't always work. They just sometimes fail. Let's talk about a couple of key metaphors that I've noticed in your writings and in the website for Spring Forest too. One is that metaphor of the mycelial network, so the underground fungus that connects the creatures, the beings, the plants, the trees of the forest. I think is a wonderful metaphor too, for the way that faith and climate people, people who are worried about the climate crisis, and also people of faith—it's a great metaphor for how they're finding each other and connecting and building this sort of cultural and spiritual soil where the seeds of the future can grow. How is that metaphor meaningful for you here at Spring Forest?Elaine Heath Well, it means a lot in terms of the first of all, the diversity of expressions of ministry that are even here on the property, but also, especially in our dispersed community, through following the rule of life together, which—we are a practice-based community, rather than a dogma-based community. So as people are practicing those practices where they live and work and play, then they are forming community in a very specific, contextual way where they are. I think of Steve and Cheryl again, the friends I mentioned earlier. He's our lay leader. They live in a, I think a working class neighborhood in Lumberton, which is the land of the Lumbee here in North Carolina. And they have developed a wonderful, just neighborhood ministry there with—and they've been able, through potluck dinners and front yard barbecues and remembering people's birthdays and things like this, they've developed this friendship network in the neighborhood with people that are on complete opposite sides, politically, racially, and this is in the South, where you've got all sorts of issues. And they've taken the sort of ethic of Spring Forest here, but it's caused a mushroom to bloom there that looks really different from here. They don't have a farm, they don't have a forest, they've got this neighborhood. But the neighboring, the praying, the tabling, resting, all of those things are part of how they live there. And so it's fruiting there. And it's the same in other places in the world where we have people that live there.Debra Rienstra It's a good example, too, of how eating together is sacramental, both here and in these other networks that are connected to you. The Garden of Eden and the vision of the New Earth in Revelation are both important to you, that that whole long scriptural arc begin in a garden, end in a garden city, and then the Tree of Life is also your symbol, your logo. So how would you situate our work today as people of faith in that long arc of history, from the garden to the Garden City, and how does the Tree of Life fit into that for you?Elaine Heath There's a way in which the whole story is happening simultaneously. Does that make sense?Debra Rienstra Yeah.Elaine Heath It's all happening beyond time, sort of simultaneously. So sometimes we're living in the garden and we've been deceived, and now we have to figure out what to do, and sometimes we're rebuilding the wall, and sometimes we're on our way to Bethlehem, and sometimes we're in the garden of the new creation. And we can see it, and we're living that truth even while there's still the wall being built. There's a simultaneity to it all. But for me, I think especially of the theology of Julian of Norwich. That's why we have her icon here. There's this vision of love making all things new, that God, Christ, the risen Christ, says in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” All things, not just a handful of people who get the right doctrine, not just—no, all things: horses and amoeba and all things are being made new in mysterious ways that we can't completely know.Debra Rienstra And that's Colossians one and Romans eight as well.Elaine Heath It's this thread that comes through scripture, and we get to participate in that, even while we don't see all the things completely made new, we get to be part of that. And to me, that's what it means to follow Christ. That's what it means to be a disciple. And to be the love of God enfleshed in this world is to keep participating in the making of all things new. This is why healing has such a central role in my theological vision and my practice, is it's making all things new.Debra Rienstra Healing land, healing people, healing communities.Elaine Heath Yeah, yeah. Healing theology. Theology has been so damaged by patriarchy and philosophy and all sorts of things, you know, and racism.Debra Rienstra Colonization. Yeah, so that embodiment is important even theologically, because we're not aiming for some abstract doctrinal perfection. We're not aiming to become disembodied creatures. We're aiming for this embodied redemption. And so working on the farm, healing, you know, getting muddy, walking through forests, harvesting veg, and you're able to invite people into that embodiment. Little kids doing yoga, I think that's wonderful. You know, just finding this kind of rest in their own little bodies. Eating—one of the most embodied and kinship-with-creation things we do, right? Taking it inside ourselves. And that, I think, is condensed in ritual. So I know that you have been playfully experimenting with rituals. I was able to be a part of the Forest Feast last night with my husband Ron and our friend Colin. And it was this beautifully curated event where we shared table together and then went through this prayer sequence that you described, and it was beautifully participative. I noticed you do a blessing of the animals too on the farm. So good thing these are blessed chickens and blessed dairy goats, blessed dogs and cats. What other sort of liturgical shenanigans have you tried to help people live into this embodied faith practice?Elaine Heath We do so many things. It's so much fun. It's never boring. It's never boring. We have a ritual in the fall, in late November, where we tuck the farm in and put it to bed for the winter, and we have the children come, we get some compost. You know, we've cleared out the beds, and they're gonna rest now. And so the children put some compost in. And we have a liturgy that we use. We light candles, and we thank Mother Earth for the food, we thank God for the opportunities. And so this is one of the things that we do ritualistically. We also have a spring ritual. It's very Hebrew-Bible like, right? With these seasons and the crops and the things with the liturgical seasons, we also have done a bunch of things. My favorite one so far was for epiphany, and this was two years ago. And so I had the interns from Duke Divinity School do the bulk of the planning. I just gave them a little bit of guidance about the four-fold order of worship and just some things like that. So we had a journey through the forest. It started here. We went on the forest trail. Of course, it was dark outside, and they had gone ahead and set up fairy lights at certain places where we're going to stop. And one of the interns' fiance was a musician, so he had his guitar, and he had one of those things where you can play the harmonica and play the guitar at the same time, but he was our troubadour, and all of us were the Magi. So there's this troop of Magi, and we would stop at each station along the way, and there were prompt questions that we would take five minutes, and people could respond to these questions. There would be a scripture reading, and we respond to the question, we go to the next station. And it was so amazing. People shared from their lives in a very deep way. It surprised me how quickly they went deep. Well, it was dark, and there were these twinkle lights, and there was the troubadour. Then we finally got up to the Christ child, and we went into the goat barn. And honestly, I get chills every time I even remember this. But the students had set up in the goat barn—and the goats were in the barn. Okay, they were behind a little chain link thing so they didn't step on the icons and everything. But they had set up an altar at the base of the feeding trough with a big icon of Mary with the Christ Child, candles, and some other things there. There were different icons and some fairy lights. And we went in there, and we all crowded in and began to sing. We sang “This Little Light of Mine,” we sang some Christmas carols, and finished the story. And then we came back to the house and had some snacks and talked about what kind of wisdom was given to us since we were Magi. We were going to be people seeking wisdom and seeking—it was the most beautiful thing. And we've done lots of things like that. We see the land here is a primary text to learn from and to listen to and to observe, not as a metaphor, but as, it's actually a conversation partner. So we do things like that.Debra Rienstra That playfulness is so exciting to me, this sense of using our tradition, using our scriptures, using the skills that we've honed as people of faith over generations, singing together, praying together, but experimenting with those things in new contexts and new ways, in new forms of embodiment that are just faithful and yet playful. And so, as you say, people go deep because they're sort of jarred out of their habitual ways, and that can be such a great formational moment and bonding moment too, and it's very memorable. We remember that in ways—you know, you had such joy on your face as you're describing that. What would you say as you look back over the last, well, let's see, it's been almost eight years? Seven, eight years here at this location. What would you say has given you the most anguish and what has given you the most joy?Elaine Heath Oh, anguish. Which story should I tell?Debra Rienstra Yeah, I don't want to make it sound like it's all been beautiful and romantic and perfect.Elaine Heath Whenever you have community, you have drama. Well, you know, at your typical church, you're gonna have drama sometimes. But what we've found a few times, and it's pretty predictable. This happens in traditional monasteries too, which is why they have novitiate periods that are sometimes quite lengthy and sort of staggered, like you put your toe in the water. People of very high capacity who are deeply grounded spiritually and have a real vision for the gospel, are attracted to community life like this. People who are really hurt, who've had a lot of brokenness, especially from religious institutions or abusive situations, trauma that that is unresolved, that has a lot of unhealed wounds, are also attracted to places like this, often with a sort of utopian hope, because of, you know, life's deficits.Debra Rienstra And they feel that this is a place of healing, and they're right about that.Elaine Heath They're right about it. And so what actually happens is sometimes with the person, the second category of person, will come and join in and just be so full of gladness, because, “Oh, these, these are real people, like they're really doing things in the world. This is what I've longed for.” But then, as relationships form, and we're doing life together, and we all bump up against each other at times, the unhealed wounds fester. And the way I see it is, God's bringing them to a place where, if they'll just do their inner work now, now that it's clear what's the next step—if they'll take the next step, whether it's get some therapy, stay on your meds, get some support for your addiction recovery, whatever the things are—if you'll take the next step, then this is a very supportive community that can help you. It's a village that can be around you and you will heal here in the context of this village. But sometimes people are not willing or not able, or it's not time in their own sense of what they can do, and so then they'll leave. Sometimes when people leave, this happens in traditional churches, for whatever reason, this is a common sort of psychological reaction, they'll create some sort of chaotic drama to be the excuse for leaving, rather than have to face the fact that it was time for me to take the next step, and I was too scared. Because that takes a lot of self awareness, you know, to come to realizations about things like that. So I know from talking to people, from, you know, friends that are in traditional monasteries and convents that this is a common thing that happens there. So it happens here sometimes, and it's never easy. It's always painful and always challenging, you know, but with God's help, we get through it. And so that's the anguish, when those kinds of things happen. We've had a time or two where, over the last 20 years, really, where a person would come in, usually a young adult who's very idealistic, and they're like, “This isn't a new monastic community. You're not forcing people to pray three times a day!” You know, whatever the thing is that they have in their head that is supposed to be, because we're pretty gracious, you know.Debra Rienstra You don't get up at three in the morning.Elaine Heath Yeah, that's not us. We can't do that because, especially if you've got families with children and, you know, you've got to get up and go to work in the morning. So sometimes there will be somebody that figures they know more than everybody else in the room, and they want to take over and run the joint. You know, that's not going to happen. So then that sometimes creates some anguish. What about the joy? The joy is—and there's so much to give me joy. I really, really love seeing people come alive, like I really love seeing people who have, especially people who have been harmed by religion, because of their identity or because of anything, and they find deep spiritual friendship. They find how to connect, in Buechner's words, their deep passion with the world's great need, and start a new thing. And it gives them so much joy. And it's actually helping people. It's helping the world. And just sort of fanning that flame, that gives me a lot of joy. I have so much joy being in touch with the land and the animals. I just really experience them directly mediating God to me. I feel the divine life in them, and I feel, I guess I get a lot of dopamine hits when I'm out there harvesting and when I'm, you know, brushing the goats and talking to the chickens and whatnot.Debra Rienstra They are blessed chickens!Elaine Heath They are blessed chickens.Debra Rienstra What advice would you give to church people who, even though they love their church and their community, recognize that something needs to change, but they don't know where to start? What advice would you give?Elaine Heath To start in their own home, if at all possible, start in their own neighborhood. Start having neighbors over for dinner. Do not tell them we're going to have a Bible study now, because that's—it's not to have a Bible study. It's to form friendships with our neighbors. Start neighboring well. Figure out who lives on my street. Who lives across the street? Invite them for dinner. Have neighborhood potlucks. We did this in Texas, right after we moved there, I think they're still going. We'd have 50 people in our house sometimes. But just invite the neighbors for dinner. Have a potluck. Get to know them. Remember their birthdays, go to their kids' graduation. When you find out their mother died, go to the funeral. It's so simple. It's just such basic neighboring. That's where to start. It's not a church program. It's not making you stop going to church somewhere, to go to church over here. What you're actually doing is living church in your own neighborhood. Start doing that.Debra Rienstra Elaine, it's been such a pleasure to be here on the farm with you and to talk with you, get to know you a little bit. Thank you for what you do, and thank you for spending some time with me today.Elaine Heath It's been a joy. Thank you for the interview.Debra Rienstra Thanks for joining us for show notes and full transcripts, please visit debrarienstra.com and click on the Refugia Podcast tab. This season of the Refugia Podcast is produced with generous funding from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Colin Hoogerwerf is our awesome audio producer. Thanks to Ron Rienstra for content consultation as well as technical and travel support. Till next time, be well. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit refugianewsletter.substack.com

Read OnlineTurning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23–24Imagine seeing Jesus in person. What would that have been like? What would it have been like to see Him, listen to Him preach, witness His miracles and spend time sitting with Him quietly? The experience of being with Him as He walked the earth would have been determined by the depth of interior sight you had. There were many who saw Jesus but rejected Him, and even killed Him. Clearly, they did not have the interior eyes of faith to see Him for Who He was. Others left everything behind to follow Him. Clearly, they perceived Who He was in His divine soul through the gift of faith.As Jesus states above, the disciples were blessed to see Him. Many prophets and kings of old desired to see the Messiah. Century after century, the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah would have left many with much anticipation and hope that they would be among those blessed to see Him. Recall, for example, Simeon the prophet who waited his whole life to see the Christ Child. Then, when Mary and Joseph brought the Child Jesus into the Temple to present Him to the Lord, Simeon took the Child into his hands and proclaimed, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:29–32). Indeed, Simeon, the disciples, and all who encountered Jesus as He walked the earth were truly blessed. They were blessed to see the Son of God with their own eyes.Jesus proclaimed the eyes of the disciples to be blessed for seeing Him. However, if He were to speak to us today, He would proclaim us doubly blessed. We do not see Him in physical form, walking the earth. But we are able to perceive Him in a way that even Simeon did not experience in His life. Simeon saw the Savior of the World with his eyes, present in human form. But today, we are able to see Him in an even more profound way. By the gift of grace and the indwelling of God, we are able to look within our own souls and discover the true presence of God living within us.One might argue that seeing Jesus with your eyes is preferable to seeing His divine presence within your soul. But is it? Certainly not. Again, recall that there were many who saw Jesus with their eyes but did not recognize Him as God. Today, we are privileged to perceive the presence of Christ in our world in the deepest way possible. He came to live within us. He came to possess us. He came to unite Himself with us in a union so deep that it transforms us completely, making us into His very body.If it took faith to see the divinity of Jesus when He walked the earth, it will also take faith to see His true presence within us. Our sins cloud His presence. Our lack of faith makes it hard to see Him there. But God is alive within every soul that is in a state of grace, and it must be our ongoing duty to discover His indwelling presence and to be with Him within. In her spiritual masterpiece, “Interior Castles,” Saint Teresa of Ávila explains that the infinite God does dwell within us. It is our duty to enter into the most secret core of our being, the most interior castle, navigating through our many sins, so that we will enter the deepest center where the fullness of the great King dwells. Reflect, today, upon Jesus' words spoken to the disciples: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” Know that this statement applies even more to you. Seek to have the eyes of faith so that you can perceive the true presence of the Savior of the World living within your own soul. Seek Him out, gaze at Him with love, bask in His divine presence and allow that presence to overshadow you, transforming you into the person God wants you to be. My indwelling Lord, I am blessed beyond belief by Your divine presence dwelling within me. Please open my eyes to see You and my ears to hear You so that I will be able to dwell with You Who have come to dwell in me. Jesus, I trust in You.Image via Adobe StockSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.