Our daughter lost her first tooth a few weeks ago. As I stared into that gaping hole in her mouth, I did the thing where you internally tear up and think, ‘where did my little baby go?’ in that wistful, nostalgic way. ‘It was only yesterday that I was holding her in my arms!’
Terrified women share an experience with men they trust, but the men don’t believe them. They say the women are lying. One of these women in particular is publicly shamed and labeled with the slanderous reputation of being a prostitute.
In the retelling of this story in Acts chapter one, after Jesus ascends, the disciples are staring up towards the heavens and two men in white robes appear. They ask the disciples:“Why do you stand looking up towards heaven?”
Today is the feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, apostles with ambiguous storylines and confusingly common names.
If you’re anything like me, you might have still found scraps of Christmas lying around when you were getting ready to help your children with a school Valentine’s Day celebration. It’s still cold in most parts of the country, and we might still feel a bit of a holiday hangover when we’re not quite sure what to do with ourselves in the days following the Feast of the Epiphany.
‘They forgot to bring Joseph!’ I frantically whispered to one of the ushers last Christmas Eve
Very little is known about Saint Matthias, as he is only mentioned in the first chapter of Acts when he is elected to replace Judas as an Apostle. Early church fathers believe that he was among the 72 sent out by Jesus, but the only thing we know for sure about Matthias is this: he followed Jesus from the beginning and was present throughout the ministry of Jesus.
Today, eight days into the Christmas season, the Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name. We celebrate this feast day on January 1st each year because it’s the day when Jesus was named by his parents and circumcised.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him
Dear Thomas, As we celebrate your feast day today I can’t help but cringe when I think about the number of times I’ve heard people chide the use of your modern-day nickname “Doubting Thomas.” As much as I’d rather not admit it, I, too, have declared from the pulpit that it’s demeaning and unfair to emphasize your apparent skepticism surrounding Jesus’ resurrection.
