Here’s the good news for those who’ve just had a baby: You get to take home a bundle of love who will be the apple of your eye for years to come. It's like being born again yourself.

God is the Lord of Today, the God of Present Tense. "I AM" is the name God uses in the ancient stories of Israel.

What’s in a name? Identity and even destiny—in just about any culture but ours. Certainly in biblical times naming held the authority of creation in it: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Who are the future leaders in your community? Invite those younger than 20 to stand in your assembly. These children and teenagers are the hope of the future.

In this country we gave up celebrating kings right around the time of the Boston Tea Party. Our national story was framed against the notion that kings are better than anybody else.

"Beloved, we are God's children now." That is such a beautiful idea I can't help repeating it from John's letter.

What makes Christians different from other holiday shoppers during the month of December? That’s not a trick question.

Some of us don’t do well with imperatives. Maybe it’s the rugged individualist streak in Americans that makes us resist being compelled.

Advent is the season of hope. But what power does hope have in this world?

My grandfather from Austria used to play a little game with us when we were small. He'd walk his fingers up our arms like a spider, repeating a soft chant in his native language: El camina, el camina . . . which means "coming, coming" but doesn't say precisely what's coming.