Author Archives: Don Follis

We never pretend, even as we make merry and await the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  And so very sadly today we mourn the deaths of more than 130 Pakistani children yesterday, grieving with their parents, as we read today’s Advent words from the gospel of Matthew chapter 2:The Escape to Egypt13 When theyContinueContinue reading “Advent is for imagining but never pretending…”

My friend John Stanford, retired Iowa State University physics professor,has been writing about Ephrem the Syrian who lived during the third century and was about 19 years old in 325 AD, the time of the Nicene Creed.  The famous creed counters the false claims that Jesus was not fully God and fully man, which is ofContinueContinue reading “Yes indeed, the virgin gave birth to a human son, fully God!”

My friend Carolyn Butler writes of Joseph, “Joseph doesn’t get much press in the Nativity story.The angel tells Joseph to take Mary as his wife!  Mostly he stands in the background on Christmas cards, leaning on a staff and looking down pensively into the manger crib.”I am thinking today of the scores of ordinary peopleContinueContinue reading “Good old Joseph … a righteous man indeed!”

Do you know about the wild Nativity scene described in Revelation chapter 12?  That was the top of my religion column on Sunday December 14.

During Advent, two of my favorite theologians remind us as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus that what is at stake for Jesus entirely is his love for humankind.  Born as a baby, Jesus enters into the guilt of we humans, finally and ultimately taking that guilt upon himself on the cross, givingContinueContinue reading “Taking on our guilt during Advent…”

Ah yes, the old Christmas fight!  Great for my ulcers!!I know this will come as a shock to you, but in many situations, believe it or not, the best way to resolve a conflict is simply to overlook the personal offenses others bring your way. Does the Bible recommend this approach?  Indeed it does, quiteContinueContinue reading “Big-time suggestion for your Christmas gatherings…”

No one talks about the incarnation as poignantly as one of my favorite writers Frederick Buechner.  Here he is in Whistling in the Dark (Harper San Francisco, 1993):”The Word became flesh.  Ultimate mystery born with a skull you could crush one-handed.  Incarnation.  It is not tame.  It is not touching.  It is not beautiful.  ItContinueContinue reading “For us and for our salvation”