Even two thousand years removed, the image effortlessly captures our imagination. There is a desperate family, far from home. There are no friendly faces, few helping hands. The closest thing to shelter the family has been able to find is a stable behind an inn, a rough-hewn thing suitable only for animals. We like to envision those animals as doe-eyed Disney cartoons, but in reality they, and the darkness, and the dirt mock this vulnerable family in their most vulnerable moment. She is young, and she is scared, because the baby is coming. He is frustrated and panicked, because he cannot figure out how to make things safe and right. Events have outpaced the couple’s ability to manage them. Things are happening to them now, and all they can do is allow these things to transpire.
Month: December 2016
7 O’Clock News
Exactly fifty years ago in 1966, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The record was a hit and consists of an eclectic playlist that includes the wistful “Homeward Bound,” the conflicted “Dangling Conversation,” and the light-hearted “Feelin’ Groovy.” The final track on the album surprised many first-time listeners, because it differs from all the others in both substance and style. It begins as a traditional Christmas carol:
Silent night, holy night; all is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child; holy infant so tender and mild…
God in the Midst of the City 