This can be a difficult time of year to drive in Rutland. Much of the striping on the roads has been worn off and what remains is sometimes obscured by snow and grit. Out of staters, who are driving through on their way to or from the slopes, are doing their best to surmise the proper lanes. But their guesses often run contrary to precedent and they end up irking local drivers who are still heeding lines that are painted nowhere but in their determined memories. It’s a wonder there aren’t more collisions. Here’s a little vocabulary for you; “mores” (pronounced mor-aze) is a word that means al ..read more

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Jesus never wears any disguise but the ones we insist on seeing when we look at him. He was a real baby, not someone cleverly disguised as one. It’s not that he looked like a baby, it’s just that a baby wasn’t what we were looking for.  Similarly, at his Crucifixion the placard and the crown of thorns, both of which were provided by Roman soldiers with cruel irony, were not a disguise because he really was and is a King.  In the stable at his birth he was not the kingly Son of God disguised as a helpless person, and on the cross he was not a helpless person disguised as the kingly So ..read more

Serendipity is the good thing you discover when you are searching for something else. A scientist employed by 3M was trying in 1968 to come up with a powerful glue when he discovered, by chance, the pressure sensitive, tacky adhesive we know from post-it notes. It was unlooked for and was, for years, scorned at 3M as the “solution without a problem.” It wasn’t until 1980, twelve years after the discovery, that post-it notes were made nationally available. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jesus is often regarded as a disappointment and a missed mark by people who find him while looking for ..read more

No one did any reconnaissance for Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem. There was no security detail showing up days ahead of him to scope things out and “establish a perimeter.”  And when Jesus did arrive, it was not in the company of an impressive entourage. The only people he had with him were the two people who had brought him, and they weren’t armed with anything.  The angels were sidelined, relegated to the job of alerting shepherds to what was happening.  Everyone comes into the world naked, but this was something else.  And yet, somehow, a mother and a father were sufficient ..read more

When Jesus made his debut in Bethlehem, as opposed to Jerusalem, it was not just about ticking the prophetic box or demonstrating humility (Bethlehem was to the other cities of Israel, what the manger was to the other cribs at the time,) or even because the Roman emperor had decreed it. There was a very practical reason for Jesus to be born in such a place. It might have been more fitting for Jesus, being a king, to have been born in a palace. But the palace, like every room in Bethlehem, was occupied. And those who occupy palaces are possessively protective of them.  Perhaps you’ve heard ..read more

Jesus’ brother James makes a big deal about the sin of showing favoritism in his letter. He calls out the sort of church leader, for instance, who would show well dressed people to the best seats when they show up for a worship service, while keeping the poorly dressed people on the uncomfortable margins. It’s scripture, but you also get the impression that for James it’s personal.  It’s a family value, it seems.  If Jesus was a high school student, it’s hard to imagine him gravitating toward the cool kid’s table in the lunchroom. If Jesus was at a game, it’s hard to imagine him watc ..read more

When there’s a natural disaster, I’m almost tempted to feel more sympathy for the President than for the people whose homes were washed away. If he goes to the devastated community and dons a ridiculous hardhat for his inspection of the destruction, or fills a few sandbags in front of the cameras, he will be accused of grandstanding and of being cynically superficial in his concern. And if he stays at the White House to direct the relief efforts from there he will be accused of being out of touch and detached and of being insufficiently devoted to the welfare of the people.  It’s kind of ..read more

She didn’t know CPR or first aid. In fact, she didn’t know about the existence of germs or viruses or the principles of infection. She didn’t have running water at home. She seldom bathed. Certainly she meant well and had good impulses, but I wouldn’t have hired her to care for my baby in my own home, much less hers.  And that Mary is the one to whom God entrusted the care of his one and only Son. If she took folic acid and listened to Baby Mozart during her pregnancy, Luke fails to mention it.  And, from our perspective, Mary looks very primitive. We imagine that we would have been ..read more

December 11 It’s a scandal that Jesus came to sinners. And really, it does nothing to lessen the scandal when you consider that there was no one else to come to.  Jesus did not just have the purity of infancy. His was the purity of the sinless and divine Son of God. He was the pure white field of new snow on which no muddy boot had yet trampled a path. And he showed up where everything was muddy boots and heedless tramplers. And for all that, not only did he come to sinners in their sin, but he came happily. There was no reluctance, no hedging, no prissy pinching of the nose. He did not s ..read more