The Work of Christmas

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Daniel J. Miller

When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To Read more [...]

Sharon’s Christmas Prayer

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Daniel J. Miller

She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity convinced every word was revelation. She said they were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without Read more [...]

Delighting in the Nod of God

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Daniel J. Miller

Listening to the Excitement (continued) I don't know Who -- or what -- put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone --or Something --and from that hour I was certain that Read more [...]

The Reason for the Season — Really?

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

“Jesus is the Reason for the Season” is one of those slogans that tries too hard and that came upon the scene a few years ago now with its twin sibling “Put Christ Back into Christmas.” It has always felt to me like each is meant as a not-so-subtle Read more [...]

Three Poems for Christmas

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

Madeleine L'Engle (November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American author best known for her young adult classic and Newberry Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time. Also widely read were its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Read more [...]

Christmas Poem

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

Clarification Concerning my reflection on December 23 regarding hope, allow me to make a clarification. In my attempt to clarify what hope is and is not, I personified it, but as I reread the piece it seemed unclear and open to misinterpretation. I Read more [...]

Christmas Eve: Two Poems

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

Making the House Ready for the Lord Dear Lord, I have swept and I have washed but still nothing is as shining as it should be for you. Under the sink, for example, is an uproar of mice—it is the season of their many children. What shall I Read more [...]

Celebrate Responsibly: Paying Attention to the Middle Child

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man's torments. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human, 1878 To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death. ~Pearl S. Buck As I have mentioned to you before, Read more [...]

Celebrate Responsibly: Longing for the Light

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--- on them light has shined. ~ Isaiah 9: 2b, NRSV Wendell Berry writes, “To know the dark with a light is to know the light. / To know the Read more [...]

Celebrate Responsibly: Go Dark

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Daniel J. Miller

"In a dark time, the eye begins to see." ~ Theodore Roethke The people who walked in darkness . . . ~ Isaiah 9:2b Perhaps due to one too many eggnogs last night, today the earth tilts (not me) giving us the shortest day and the longest night of the Read more [...]

The Sacred Braid

Helping Persons and Communities Weave Lives of Spiritual Depth.

Tag Archives: Advent & Christmas