
Readers Write: Ponder
We asked readers to submit brief reflections on words associated with Advent. Below are two responses on the word “ponder.”

A time to ponder
How can we slow ourselves down and draw things out enough to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, when the season seems to be even more sped up than usual?

“Singing the (Advent) Jailhouse Blues”
The gospel plays out in a world well acquainted with the jailhouse blues, yet the Resurrection beckons with a different song, soaring above our longings and our loathing, above our angst in life and our cries in the night.

Good shall overcome
In God’s world and in God’s time, the darkness shall not overcome the light and good shall overcome some day. And so, we continue to sing with gusto our faith that “We shall overcome some day.”

Christmas humor: Top 10 gifts to pastors
One evening several Christmases ago — not too long after I had resigned from my pastoral position — I started compiling a list of all the things I thought would make for a flourishing pastor-congregational relationship. As I looked over the list, I realized that I had created the perfect top 10 guide to giving gifts to pastors.