“If instead of the Mongol Invasion of Europe in the thirteenth century, we could simply have had free chocolate milk for everyone involved, that would have been much nicer. But it also wasn’t one of the options. It kind of didn’t happen” (Writers to Read, p. 128).
The Same Story
“We forget that Rachel weeping for her slaughtered children is very much a part of the Christmas story—as much a part of it as the shepherds, and the angels, and the star, and the wise men. This is a story of the infants who were butchered by a tyrannical king, and the one infant who …
Important Stuff
“This is the celebration of the Incarnation, when the eternal Logos of God took on a material body, which He still has. Do not, therefore, join in with the general lamentations about ‘materialism.’ This is a celebration of God taking on a material body. It is therefore a holiday that should focus on stuff. By …
Not a Good Way at All, In Fact
“Picture our various theologies of this folly on Christmas morning. If you open a gift and churlishly refuse to thank the giver of it, then—in our little illustration—you are an atheist. But how, in this regard, is it better to be the pietist and to smash the gift to pieces ‘lest it tempt you away …
For Skies Kind of Bland
“One of the impulses that overscrupulous pietists have is that of trying to ‘thin out the world’ so that we won’t be as tempted to idolatry by it. But the problem with this procedure is that it never works. We can fall into idolatry with our airy abstractions as much as we do with a …
Because the Sauce Goes on Everything
“The central point of the food is not what you are eating but rather who you are eating it with – but don’t mistake the point here. That does not make the taste of the food, or the care that goes into its preparation, irrelevant. Far from it. A good sauce accents the taste of …
To Join Us In Our Sorrow
“We continue to prepare ourselves for the celebration of one of the most monumental events of all world history – the time when the Second Person of the Creator God assumed a human body in the womb of a virgin, in order to join us in our sorrow, and to deliver us from it” (God …
An Unhappy Lot
“He does not eat ‘low’ because he has no awareness of what he is doing, like the fellow who has only ten taste buds for every square inch of his tongue and struggles to determine the difference between hot and cold” (Writers to Read, p. 117).
A Simple Church Year
“During the first half of the Christian year, remember the five evangelical feast days – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Do not look for any commemoration of St. Alphonse the Lesser, patron saint of three-legged cats. When everything is special, nothing is” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 112).
Refined Past the Limit
“One of the great problems with developed sensibilities in any area is the temptation to preciosity. Overrefinement in art, music, language, or any area does not create the true artiste but rather the insufferable boor. The task is not to cultivate high standards; any lout can do that. The trick is to cultivate high standards …