​​​​​​​​​​St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Once upon a time there were some astronomers sitting at their respective telescopes, minding their own business, and gazing up at the sky. Suddenly, they caught sight of one of the largest, brightest, most glorious stars they had ever seen. They were not particularly religious, but they were familiar with the Hebrew prophecies about the promise of a Messiah. They became so captivated by this dazzling luminary that they knew immediately that something powerful was calling them

This First Sunday after Christmas calls for John’s prologue of his Gospel. It is deep in theology and imagery. However, just as I did last year, I choose to observe the eve of the feast of the Holy Innocents which occurs tomorrow. The Massacre of the Holy Innocents. is the biblical narrative of infanticide  by Herod the Great , the Roman-appointed King of the Jews . According to the Gospel of Matthew , Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of

Do you remember those lovely photos of yourself or your children sitting on Santa’s lap in the local department store? I’m guessing mine was taken at Bamberger’s in Newark, New Jersey. The photo and store are long gone, but the memory lingers. And the question Santa asked was usually, “And what would you like for Christmas,” to which we would provide our list of the things we hoped we might find under the Christmas tree.   Now as an adult, and a senior one at that, my list is

We just heard how Joseph got the same peculiar news that the angel has announced to his fiancée, Mary, but the angel visits Joseph, not in the bright light of day, but rather when he jumps up in bed, in a cold sweat, to be told that Mary is pregnant, not by him, and that he is to accept Mary’s child as his own.   I’d like to imagine Joseph’s reaction to that. What might he have to say? Perhaps it would go something like this: Let me introduce myself. My name is Joseph. I’ve b