Advent: Week 4

 

God is love. That is theme of the fourth week of Advent.

And in the person of Jesus, love is coming to our world, and can come to our lives. God's love is a wonderful example of being blesses so that we can bless others. God's love in us is what enables us to love others. The Father's example of sending His Son to us as a rescue is a cosmic example of sacrificial love.

There are of course many possible Scripture verses that speak to God's love, and I have chosen 1 John 4:9.

This is how God showed His love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him."

 

 

Dead Theologians Society: St. John of the Cross

It's been a while since we've done one of these posts, but ... here we go!

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December 14 is the feast day of St John of the Cross, born in Spain as Juan de Yepes y Álvarez. At the age of 21, he joined the Carmelite order, following the example of St Teresa of Avila, with whom he corresponded.

He is most known for his mystical writings, especially The Dark Night of the Soul. His writings are considered landmarks both in the realm of spiritual writings, and also of all Spanish literature. The impacts of this work and others led to his being named a Doctor of Church in 1926.

Advent: Week 3

 

The theme for the third week of Advent is joy. This is of the major themes of the entire season, and of course the theme of one of the best-known songs of the season. 

It is important to know that although related to happiness, joy is NOT happiness. Happiness is transitory, an emotion that can fade as capriciously at it can appear. Joy is a lifestyle. Joy can be sown, joy can be spread. Joy can be received as a gift from God. The coming of Christ is evidence of God's desire to bring joy to the world.

An appropriate Scripture for this week, is a well-known one, from Philippians 4:4 & 5.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Advent: Week 2

 

For the second week Advent, we light the Peace Candle," reflective of the coming of the Prince of Peace into the world at Christmas. Jesus can bring peace to our inner selves, and also pave the way for peace with others.

The prayer for peace speaks to the possibility of the "not yet" of Jesus' coming reign of peace breaking in to the "now" of our lives. Advent is about anticipation, and peace is one of the things that a life with Jesus can bring.

An appropriate Scripture for this week can be found in the Messianic promises of Isaiah 9:6:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Advent: Week 1

The first candle of Advent is called the "Hope Candle."It is reflective of the overall theme of the season, which is preparing for Christmas. Even in a world full of hate, division, bias, and disease, it can be hard to hold on to hope. 

It's important to remember that the biblical version of "hope" is different than a desire for our life circumstances to change. It's more like waiting for God to appear in the midst of all your stuff. It’s the tension of living through the junk of "now" while holding onto the expectation that the "not yet" of God can break into this world and give us peace. 

The arrival of Jesus is evidence of this in-breaking of God to our world. 

This is a good verse to recall as we walk through the first week of Advent, from Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”

Easter 2021

 Indeed!

Holy Saturday 2021

 We wait.

Good Friday 2021

The hinge point of human history

Podcast #043 - Chit-Chat & Feedback

 

"Chit-Chat & Feedback"

Alan and Em talk a bit about how they've been passing the time recently -- Dragon Age, Warrior Nun, theology podcasts, and the like. And then they empty out the entire bag of listener feedback. 

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:

You may also subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or the RSS Feed.

Link #1: The music of The Oh Hellos!
Link #2: The music of The Gray Havens
Link #3: The Sacramental Charismatic podcast
Link #4: The Foreword podcast 

We would love to hear from you about this topic, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan

"My Kind of Santa"

A terrific essay about the historical St. Nicholas appears on the St. Nicholas Center website, by James Parker III. He is a professor at he Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Check it out.

Persecuted, Jailed, Passionate
That's my kind of Santa Claus

A Baptist Take on Saint Nicholas

Dead Theologians Society: St. Jerome

Happy Feast Day of Saint Jerome.

Jerome (331 - 420) was one of the great scholars of the early church, a man who strove to gather great literary and scholarly works into one place. He even translated or copied out many of these works himself. By virtue of surrounding himself with such great works, he was able to create produce impressive theological works himself. His view of studying Scripture is summed up is his maxim:: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

Jerome is best known for spearheading a new translation of the Bible into Latin, which came to be known as the Vulgate. This translation became the most influential text in Western Europe for more than a millennia, dominating its era more fully and for longer than the King James Version did.

As a result of his scholarly accomplishments in terms of Bible translation and other scholarly work, St. Jerome is considered the patron of librarians, archivists, and encyclopedists.

And that makes him pretty much the unofficial patron saint of Dorkness to Light.

Dead Theologians Society: St. Augustine of Hippo

This is the first of an occasional series of posts with no connection to pop culture. Not every one of these will be tied to the church calendar, but this one is. Which reminds me, I should write about the concept of the church calendar some time.

August 28 is the feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential theologians of the Patristic Era, meaning the church fathers that came after the close of the Apostolic Age. Augustine led a life of sin and drunkenness until his conversion at the age of 31. His mother Monica is a saintly example of the faithful praying parent. He spent the remainder of his long life writing, preaching, and serving the church.

His Confessions is considered one of the West's earliest examples of a memoir, and represents the most complete record of any person from the 4th or 5th century. In terms of theology, his City of God continues to resonate as an example of how to respond to earthly disasters, such as (in his case) the sack of Rome by Visigoths. His On Christian Doctrine and On the Trinity are also valuable resources. There is a free St. Augustine app that contains that contains some of his major works, and many of his works are available elsewhere electronically free of charge.

His influence on theology is still widely felt. Important doctrines that he developed include original sin, just war theory, free will and predestination, and Maryology. For his contributions to theology, he is considered one the few "Doctors of the Church."

Although the majority of his works were theological, Confessions contains some of his most passionate and personal writings: "“Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; I was deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you."