Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

LOVE INTO OUR APATHY In a bacon and egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig makes a personal sacrifice. Now, I'm not saying Joseph was a chicken, but his initial decision about ending his relationship with Mary was a safe one, for him.   He decided to do right by Mary, but when it was over, Joseph would walk out of Mary's life.   Joseph's decision would end the rumors, the jokes his co-workers told behind his back on the job site, and his family's disapproval. Mary would be someone else's problem.   He was only human, after all. I know there are times when my attitude is, "I couldn't care less."   Caring costs too much.   It costs me time and resources that I may not be able to afford or be willing to give.   It requires too much emotional investment at a time when I'm too tired, too worn out to share myself with others. Caring is risky.   It makes me vulnerable to rejection and getting hurt. ...

Friday, Decemter 21, is the first day of winter, the longest night of the year.  On that day, the sun will rise at 7:38 am and set at 4:48 pm.  That gives us a little over nine hours of daylight, and a long night until Saturday's dawn. Long, dark nights are not confined to certain times of the year governed by astronomical cycles.  For us, our longest night may come from the human condition and out of the brokeness of a yet unredeemed creation.  Scripture describes humanity as a people waiting in darkness. In the book of Isaiah, God speaks through the prophet to the people of Israel whose country was conquered by the Assyrians.  Their homes and cities were destroyed, and they were carried off into captivity to Babylon.  Their desolation -- their grief, their angquish, and their anger are expressed in Psalm 137: By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked u...