Barnabas File

One of the challenges of Advent is keeping the events and persons fresh and relevant.     There is a tendency to come up with some basic ideas and become stuck there.     In an effort to get some new perspective, I reading Adam Hamilton’s book The Journey. He combines biblical reflection, observations about the places mentioned, and some preaching imagination to bring new insights to Mary, Joseph, and others in these familiar stories.   As he writes about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (which probably lasted several months), Hamilton identifies the mentor and protégé relationship that was established between the two women. It is one worth unpacking.   First, when Mary finds herself miraculously pregnant, she must have thought of her kinswoman Elizabeth who also had been unexpectedly blessed.  Through the family grapevine, Mary learned that elderly, revered woman was expecting.  Although their circumstances were different, Mary identified eno...

One of the challenges of Advent is keeping the events and persons fresh and relevant.     There is a tendency to come up with some basic ideas and become stuck there.    In an effort to get some new perspective, I have been reading Adam Hamilton’s book The Journey in recent days. He combines biblical reflection, observations about the places mentioned, and some preaching imagination to bring new insights to Mary, Joseph, and others in these familiar stories.   As he writes about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (which probably lasted several months), Hamilton identifies the mentor and protégé relationship that was established between the two women. It is one worth unpacking.   First, when Mary finds herself miraculously pregnant, she must have thought of her kinswoman Elizabeth who also had been unexpectedly blessed.  Through the family grapevine, Mary learned that elderly, revered woman was expecting.  Although their circumstances were differ...

Although Bible commentators suggest that Luke was probably writing his gospel for a Gentile audience, the first chapter of the gospel links directly with the Hebrew Bible and prophecy.  Zechariah and Elizabeth are a righteous couple from priestly lineage who represent the best of that tradition.  There is a bit of humor in Zechariah’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel, his voice being silenced due to his doubt, and an older couple finding themselves pregnant, but the task they receive is serious--they will give birth to and nurture the new Elijah, forerunner of the Messiah. Elizabeth and her husband represent several things that we should take seriously as we consider the role of senior adults in the church today. First, they represent communal memory.  They remind us from where we have come. Senior adults today provide link to the rich heritage of faith not only of the Hebrew tradition but now the 20 centuries of Christian faith and practice. ...