Reading the Hebrew Scripture assigned for yesterday I was struck by the words “… on that day [that is, on the day of judgement] … the earth will be desolate because of its inhabitants, for the fruits of their doing.” And I found myself thinking about gardens. The garden of Eden, the paradise of the creation story. The song, Woodstock, where “we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.” The garden worked by members of this congregation to feed those in need in this community. (more…)
Advent
Archived Posts from this Category
November 30, 2013
Advent I (2013)
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Sermons | Tags: Advent, by John Mangels, Sermons, stewardship |[2] Comments
December 1, 2010
New Blog Link
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Religion | Tags: Danielle Shroyer, John the Baptist |Leave a Comment
My wife sent me a link to a new blog that I’ve now linked (see my blogroll): The Hardest Question. There is a list of (heavy hitting) contributors, but the first article I read all the way through did not seem to be on that list: Danielle Shroyer. She wrote a piece on this Sunday’s gospel called Prophets are Terrible Dinner Guests. If the title grabs your interest, please do follow the link!
January 2, 2010
Meeting Expectations
Posted by johnmangels under Advent | Tags: Advent, by John Mangels, Christmas, Writers Group |[2] Comments
So here is something else from my clergy writer’s group. Remember, these are timed writes, one quick draft only that ends when time is out. This happened back before Christmast during Advent:
Expectations. Pleasing other people. We all have them. We all do it. Face it: if we didn’t meet some expectations and please some people, we wouldn’t have jobs. We wouldn’t have families. We couldn’t function. (more…)
December 13, 2009
Keeping Up With Advent
Posted by johnmangels under Advent | Tags: Advent, by John Mangels, Seeing God, spiritual search |Leave a Comment
Well, Advent got off to the best start for me I’ve ever had. And yet as I round the corner into the third week of Advent, I find myself humbled. (more…)
November 26, 2009
Early Advent
Posted by johnmangels under Advent | Tags: Advent, by John Mangels, Personal, Prayer, Sam Portaro |1 Comment
Well, I feel like I’m in Advent already!
Yes, I know, it’s still Thanksgiving Day, and Advent doesn’t come until this Sunday. But at our service this morning, after talking a little about Jamestown and the first Thanksgiving Day, I shared a little reflection by Sam Portaro (again from Bightest and Best) where he links Thanksgiving Day and Advent. He begins with today’s gospel and the image of the lilies of the field. And he links those to Mary and her pregancy which is a major piece of what we remember in Advent. (more…)
November 21, 2009
What I’m Doing for Advent
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Personal | Tags: by John Mangels, Daily Office, Incarnation, spiritual search |[4] Comments
For my Advent discipline this year I’m going to be reading “God With Us” (Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas), Edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe. It features daily writing for Advent (and for feasts through Epiphany) by such writers as Scott Cairns, Emilie Griffin, Richard John Neuhaus, Kathleen Norris, Eugene Peterson and Luci Shaw. I’ve already done some browsing.
The major question for me was whether to wait for Advent and live through the season day by day with the book, or to start tomorrow (and maybe be able to use what I’m reading in the week ahead. I’m pretty sure at this point I’m going to start tomorrow, hoping that I can use some of what I’m reading with my congregation in a timely manner. (We’ve already got our second reading for our early service on I Advent set up to use an excerpt from Neuhaus’s piece for that day. I’m hoping it will inform my sermons.
So far, I really like what I’ve seen. I’m looking forward to using this as a daily reading (maybe in conjunction with Morning Prayer). I have to thank my wife, Anne, who found this and bought this for me. There are some wonderful advantages to having a librarian in the family!
As you might gather from the title, it’s geared towards discovering the meaning of the incarnation (Jesus’ birth) in our lives.
October 6, 2009
Advent Prayers of the People
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Prayer | Tags: Advent, New Song Episcopal Church, Prayer |[2] Comments
My wife Anne found a lovely Advent prayers of the people from New Song Episcopal Church in Coralville Iowa. I know it’s probably early for this (though we are beginning our plans for Advent now), but if you are interested, you can find it here.
January 18, 2009
Where did you meet Christ?
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Religion | Tags: Sarcastic Lutheran, Seeing God |1 Comment
My wife found this for me. At the House for All Sinners and Saints, an urban Lutheran liturgical community in Denver Colorado, they asked this question and collected answers throughout Advent. If you’d like to see how they answered this question, click here http://sarcasticlutheran.typepad.com/sarcastic_lutheran/2008/12/where-we-met-christ.html and look below the icon. There are futher comments below (on that site) if you are interested in following further.
December 16, 2008
How God Made a Home
Posted by johnmangels under Advent, Bible | Tags: Advent, Bible, by John Mangels, Core Beliefs, Incarnation, Seeing God |Leave a Comment
I’ve started working on my sermon for Sunday. I find the lessons pretty interesting. In our first reading (II Samuel 7:1-11, 16) we find King David trying to use God to shore up his emerging dynasty. David has secured his hold over both the northern and southern kingdoms, unifying them for the first time. His personal army has also just secured Jerusalem, a new addition that had not been part of either kingdom. David has built his house of (expensive) cedar in Jerusalem, which will become known as the city of David. And he decides he’s like to house the ark of God, which has traveled with the people in a tent since the exodus, in a permanent temple.
December 9, 2008
Uncertain Times
Posted by johnmangels under Advent | Tags: Advent, by John Mangels, Economy |1 Comment
These are uncertain times.
As we move towards Christmas and Jesus’ birth, I can’t help but think how uncertain times must have been for Mary and Joseph. To start with, the Jewish people were an occupied people. Romans, foreigners who were not Jews, were in political control. To complicate matters even further, Mary and Joseph were forced to travel through foreign territory, from Galilee to Bethlehem, from the territory of one Roman Governor to the territory of another Roman Governor, to pay taxes. They had to make this trip, by foot and donkey, during the final month of her pregnancy. They were not able to call ahead to make room reservations. They didn’t have family there to stay with when they arrived.
The Sunset Juggler (formerly The Dragon's Mouth) 