The Wise Men

We Three Kings was my favorite Christmas carol when I was a child. John Henry Hopkins penned the hymn when he was rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania back in 1857. It wasn’t my favorite because of its deep theological content. That’s not a knock at the content, it just isn’t why I liked it. I liked it because of the way it sounds—so different from other hymns, at least different from the hymns we sang on most days at church. The music is hauntingly beautiful, reminiscent of Middle Eastern music (which I cannot help but think is intentional). Hopkins intended everyone to sing the first verse, and then three robust male voices would intone a verse each, before everyone joined again to finish together. Ahhh! I love this song.

We hardly ever sang it.

I didn’t know the Three Kings were controversial until much later . . . college, in fact. In seminary, we were still discussing their details of their visit.

I just liked the unusual sound . . . We Three Kings of Orient are . . . bearing gifts we traverse afar . . . field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

Let’s Take a Look

Let’s look at these Wise Men, whose story appears only in Matthew 2:1-12. Shortly after the shepherds arrived to adore the baby in a barn, laying in a wooden manger, the three foreign kings majestically adorned and riding on camels stroll into Bethlehem. Together, everyone gazes in amazement as the kings dismount and reverently place their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh around the babe. Who doesn’t sing songs about that!?!

Is that what Matthew says? Is it really?

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 3

This is the third and final part of a series examining the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Read Part 1 here.

Read Part 2 here.

Day Eight–Eight Maids A-Milking

The eight maids are the beatitudes from Matthew 5. They are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.

December 26, 2018January 2, 2019

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 2

This is a continuation of a post on the 12 Days of Christmas. Read the first part here: Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 1.

Day Five–Five Golden Rings

The five golden rings supposedly refer to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Traditionally, these were written by Moses, but almost no one believes Moses actually wrote them down. The stories were oral tadition. The books–Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuternoomy–explain the origins of humankind and humanity’s rlationship with God.

December 25, 2018December 27, 2018

The Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 1

When are the Twelve Days

The Twelve Days of Christmas are not twelve days leading up to Christmas. Advent is the time leading up to Christmas Day. The Twelve Days begin with Christmas Day and last until January 6, which is known as Epiphany. Epiphany is the day we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men. For more on the Wise Men, read the Wise Men post. The days between Christmas Day and Epiphany constitute the Christmas season.

December 21, 2018December 26, 2018

Oh, to be a Shepherd!

Each year, one of the nativity characters seems to capture me. This year, it is the shepherds.

How much do you know about shepherds in the first century BC?

December 10, 2018December 26, 2018

Know Your Nativity

Two Differences Between Catholic and Protestant Nativity Sets

Some nativity sets are for Catholic Christians. Others are intended for Protestant Christians.

Did you have any idea?!

December 9, 2018December 26, 2018

Christian Wheel of the Year

The Christian Wheel of the Year is the Christian calendar, or liturgical year of the Church.

This calendar contains the seasons of the year and special days observed in each season. It is often depicted as a pie chart because it is cyclical, which is also why it is called the wheel of the year.

November 23, 2018December 27, 2018

What are you talking about?

I have a friend. She’s such wonderful fun, adventurous, loyal and hard working. But conversations can be exhausting. Sometimes I have to just stop her and say, “WHAT are you talking about?” When we quit laughing, she will catch me up.

I get lost because I don’t comprehend a connection. Sometimes it’s my fault; I let my attention wander and miss it. Other times she doesn’t give me enough information to follow her off the conversational exit ramp. One example was the day a conversation about back roads to the beach shifted to lasagna. I didn’t know she had the discovered the “best lasagna of my life” in a chance encounter after taking a wrong turn and getting lost. It’s an important piece of information! Once she shared that, I could say, “Oh, now I get it!”

November 20, 2018December 27, 2018

What is a Spiritual Health and Wellness Coach?

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What is Spiritual Health and Wellness Coach

To share with you what I do (and do not do), I need to explain a little about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I’m neither a psychologist nor an expert in Maslow’s theory, but I find it helpful.

Who’s Maslow?

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist (1908-1970) whose work was very different from psychologists before him. He called his work “positive psychology,” because those before him had focused on illness and abnormality while Maslow focused on creating health, wellness, and wholeness in an individual.

The Hierarchy of Needs is a visual representation of his motivational theory, first published in the 1940’s. Maslow asserted that human beings are motivated to meet our needs, and deficiencies in the the needs in the lower levels of the pyramid will inhibit our growth and movement to higher levels of the pyramid.