One becomes reflective at a funeral or memorial service. I've often wondered what people do at times like this, who have no faith. They are in all levels of society, from the executive's corner office to the corner coffee shop. … Read more
It was the kind of Friday you want to forget. No, sorry, make that the kind of Friday you don't want to have happen. It was the end of a long, too busy week. The kind of week where the … Read more
Consider that passage from Mark's Gospel. They had busy days, even twenty centuries ago! Put that verse in a modern setting, and you get: "Jesus and His group was so busy they didn't even have time to grab a sandwich … Read more
A couple of years ago, I was at a conference. One of the people there was a long-established and well-respected medical doctor who had a busy, downtown practice, full of corporate executives. One of the lines I heard during a … Read more
Who would leave the shepherds out of the Christmas story? Not me, that's for sure. You see, I'm one of them. The passage from Luke says there were shepherds in the fields that night, keeping watch over their flocks by … Read more
A happy madhouse. That about describes the scene at any airport, train or bus station just before Christmas. A crush of people all travelling for the holidays. Many will be going "home" or making a home, wherever they're going. That … Read more
Handel's Messiah is part of Christmas for many people. People may not know the whole oratorio, but they know the Hallelujah Chorus, and want to hear that. Problem is, it's not near the beginning, it's near the end. People, whose … Read more
There are some homes where the Christmas lights aren't shining as brightly as they did last year. Sorrow and loss affects us all; however the first Christmas with the loss of a loved one is something you almost have to … Read more
Calgary's Bob Edwards was a Western Canadian institution. He published the irreverent Calgary Eye Opener for twenty years. One of his pithy comments runs: "One can always tell when one is getting old and serious by the way the holidays … Read more
The book, The Screwtape Letters, is a Christian classic. In it, C.S. Lewis tells the story of a junior devil who is trying to gain the soul of a human, with some help from his uncle, a very senior devil. … Read more