2023 has zipped by quickly. This annum may go down in long-view history as out-of-place in the parade of venerable years. but I don’t see much value in marking any year of my life as undesirable or regrettable. For its duration, this year has been part of God’s gift of life. God has been active, perhaps in ways I don’t yet see. I’ve lived within the confines of this year’s seasons, and haveMORE...
It sees odd that for years I’ve underestimated one name of Jesus—as Baby or as Messiah—that’s the most striking, most radical, and yet the most necessary: Prince of Peace! I might need to reassess my too-easily overlooked part of Jesus’ work. In biblical history, what king (or prince) was known primarily as a peacemaker? What I see in the Bible’s kings is exactly the opposite. Those rulers—mostMORE...
In his beloved hymn, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, the 19th century pastor and hymnwriter Edmund Sears wrote that the angels sang “o’er the Babel sounds.” That short phrase strikes me as a hopeful note within the tumult of current news events and trends. (Wars, loudly ranting politicians, relentless climate change and AI’s rampaging all come to mind.) What Sears recalled was an angelic lateMORE...
Earlier in life, I took heart from the Magnificat’s message (Luke 2:46-55). Perhaps God could use me to feed hungry people, cast down the mighty from their seats, show mercy to those who were poor and put humble people in places of power! That felt like a righteous, even prophetic ministry. I also missed something along the way. I had overlooked another side of Mary’s borrowed and revised songMORE...
My preference for celebrating the Birth of Jesus is to seek quiet moments to contemplate the mystery of God’s redeeming love for me. To remember all the beautiful Christmas carols and hymns that echo that kind of feeling. Noise bothers me—life is filled with too much of it—so Christmas can offer a respite from that irksome aspect of life today. But then I remember how, in the middle of shepherds’MORE...
My apologies for not authoring a genuine FullofYears blog today. Instead, I want to play around with a far-fetched thought that might have some Advent connections: “What if teleportation—the physical relocation of human bodies from one place to another—became possible? What spiritual good could come from that?” My interest in this admittedly wispy matter comes from three interlocking thoughtsMORE...
Advent weather in the Northern hemisphere—darkness, cold, mixed precipitation, etc .—invites me into cozy caves of theological thought that I trust will eventually emerge as something useful. Today, two musings scrawled on the walls of this temporary hiding place: Hope and creativity, and End Times hope…. Chris and I are part of a congregation where creativity— demonstrated by pastors, staffMORE...
I sometimes wonder how folks going about their daily routines might be waiting for the moment(s) when they could be known for who they really are. What thrives under their workplace exteriors. What they’re good at doing. What benefits they bring to the rest of us. How they live out their best selves. (An Advent theme, perhaps?) In that frame of mind, it isn’t too hard to imagine and valueMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.