At the time of his birth Christ, through whom every place was created, finds no place in the inn; and he who is Lord of all the world is born as though a foreigner, to enable us to be citizens whose homeland is heaven. He is wrapped in swaddling clothes in order to restore inContinue reading “He lies in swaddling clothes, but he reigns in heaven”
Tag Archives: Incarnation
St. Augustine on the Incarnation
Man’s Maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breasts; that the Bread might be hungry, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired from the journey; that the Truth might be accused by false witnesses, the Judge of the living and the dead be judgedContinue reading “St. Augustine on the Incarnation”
Maria Walks amid the Thorn
Maria walks amid the thorn,Kyrie eleison,Maria walks amid the thorn,Which seven years no leaf has born.Jesus and Maria. What ‘neath her heart doth Mary bear?Kyrie eleison,The little Child doth Mary bear,Beneath her heart He nestles there.Jesus and Maria. And as the two are passing near,Kyrie eleison,And as the two are passing near,Lo! roses on theContinue reading “Maria Walks amid the Thorn”
The clutching hand of the baby
Christmas is one of the great European exports. You’ll meet Santa Claus and his reindeer in Shanghai and Dar-es-Salaam; a long way from the North Pole. More seriously and less commercially, the story of the Nativity is loved even in non-Christian contexts (I discovered that one of the best and most sensitive recent film re-tellingsContinue reading “The clutching hand of the baby”
St. Cyril of Jerusalem on Advent
We preach not one advent only of Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former. For the former gave a view of His patience; but the latter brings with it the crown of a divine kingdom. For all things, for the most part, are twofold in our Lord Jesus Christ: a twofold generation; one, of God, beforeContinue reading “St. Cyril of Jerusalem on Advent”
R. S. Thomas – The Coming
And God held in his handA small globe. Look, he said.The son looked. Far off,As through water, he sawA scorched land of fierceColour. The light burnedThere; crusted buildingsCast their shadows: a brightSerpent, A riverUncoiled itself, radiantWith slime. On a bareHill a bare tree saddenedThe sky. Many peopleHeld out their thin armsTo it, as though waitingForContinue reading “R. S. Thomas – The Coming”
Release me from this life
Since Thou hast become life and resurrection for all men through Thy goodness,Release me from this life.Thou Who art immortal, and send me away from this life, which is mortal:Give my body over to mortal death, as with all Thy friends,But grant me, Merciful One, life spiritual and eternal.Since I have seen Thee in theContinue reading “Release me from this life”
He speaks to God, His Father, in a human voice…
Jesus takes our human nature—yours and mine—to the heart of God and he speaks to God his father in a human voice. In heaven the language they speak is human (not just angelic). Our words (human words) are heard at the very centre of the burning heart of reality. The Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams, sermon forContinue reading “He speaks to God, His Father, in a human voice…”
Locus Communis 