Irreverently Reverend

  Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying:  2  “Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say:  3  Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing?  4  Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest ; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts,  5  according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear.  6  For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry la...

  Blue Christmas/Longest Night (last week of Advent) We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now.   And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free.   We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see?   But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience. In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans.   The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. (CEB)             One of my favorite book series is The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper.   It’s been on my mind this week because the BBC...