Author Archives: Don Follis

Some people know that I read the New York Times almost every day, especially the obituaries.  I’ve done it for years.  You can’t read a major newspaper like the Times without reading every day about turmoil, pain and suffering in the world.  I try to be a hopeful person, but I never pretend that thereContinueContinue reading “Come Lord Jesus”

Imagining the kind of father Joseph must have beenRecently I’ve been preaching at a little country church 45 miles from Champaign-Urbana.  Yesterday after the services I was standing at the front of the sanctuary looking at the beautiful tree and the nativity set adorning the stage in the 100-year-old church.One of the elders of theContinueContinue reading “What kind of father was Joseph? … What kind of father am I?”

But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage.ContinueContinue reading “At Christmas Jesus stands at the door of our heart knocking: “Please come home!””

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping withContinueContinue reading “Oh the piercing of the soul during Advent…”

“Nine months of awkward explanations, the lingering scent of scandal–it seems that God arranged the most humiliating circumstances possible for his entrance, as if to avoid any charge of favoritism. I am impressed that when the Son of God became a human being he played by the rules, harsh rules: small towns do not treatContinueContinue reading “The small town in which Jesus was raised…”

“Sooner or later, if we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible and risk all that we see and taste and feel. But we know the risk is worth it, because there is nothing more insecure than this transient world.” —Thomas Merton, Thoughts inContinueContinue reading “Is this our plan or God’s plan… Oh, may God give us the courage of Joseph!”

I talk with pastors every day in my work.  Having served in this vocation for 35 years, I have a heart for pastors and their families.Pastors are not different from any other people.  They want to be liked.  They want to be praised.  They want to be understood.  They don’t want to be judged. AndContinueContinue reading “Christmas can be hard for everyone … even the pastor, aah, maybe the especially the pastor”