St. Luke’s Stories

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the video below. It’s a performance by J. Warren Mitchell accompanied by Dr. Jan McDaniel. I’ve always loved hearing Dr. McDaniel play the piano – he has incredible talent and you hear the emotions of a musical piece as he plays. In the clip below, you can hear his talent as he accompanies the amazing voice of J. Warren Mitchell. A few years ago I was blessed to hear the two of them perform in a small setting, to a small group of people. I was moved to tears by the performance. 

Recently I watched the series “A.B.C. Murders” on Amazon Prime. It is based on the book of the same name written by Agatha Christie. Now, when I was in junior high and high school, I read as many Agatha Christie novels as I could get. So when I saw that the series featured one of my favorite Christie characters, Detective Hercule Poirot, I was eager to watch it. It was an interesting adaptation – it featured an elderly Poirot dealing with his own aging process in the midst of feeling dismissed and forgotten. On a side note – I really enjoyed the series! But more importantly, it really started me thinking on how we treat the elderly.

Six days. I still have trouble realizing that Christmas will be here in just six days. I feel like we just finished summer! But whether I feel like it’s time or not, Christmas will arrive. Whether I am ready or not, it will happen. Whether or not I have all my shopping done – Christmas will occur.

This Sunday will begin the season of Advent. We celebrate four weeks of Advent to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Christ. One practice that can help develop a deeper connection to the meaning of Christmas is to focus on a certain value each week. This Sunday we will light the first candle of the Advent wreath. Traditionally it carries a meaning of hope. We light a candle for hope because the Light of the World brought us everlasting hope. The second Sunday of Advent we will light the candle for faith. Faith is trusting in God’s everlasting love for us as His children. The third Sunday of Advent is often represented by a pink candle in the Advent wreath. The third Sunday has a special name; it is called Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” is the Latin word for “rejoice”. It is also a Sunday to remember Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Luke 1:46-49, we have the beautiful words of Mary singing of her joy at being part of God’s work in the world:

Last evening I found myself a little disappointed that more of the candidates I had wanted to win, didn’t. There was a moment that I even caught myself questioning the time I spent in the process of voting.

If you have not read the letter that Senator John McCain released before his death, I encourage you to take two minutes and read it now. This is not a partisan letter, but the sentiments of a person who strived to make his country better and do it with honor. One of the lines that jumped […]