As a volunteer chaplain entering my 23rd season with the Colorado Rapids, I have come to find an important rhythm to start a season. You might find it strange, but Deuteronomy 20 has become, for me, an important reference point as I bless athletes, coaches, and others involved in the Beautiful Game. If you're not familiar with Deuteronomy 20, in the spring time, the nation of Israel has the priests come out and bless those who will be engaged in defending and fighting for the lands need to sustain the people. As untrained, non-professional soldiers, Israel needed to depend upon God in the face of more powerful opponents and overwhelming odds. They needed to be reminded that God is with

It's a curious pairing that doesn't happen very often, but this year Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day occur on the same day. For 2024, February 14th will commingle Christian themes of repentance of sin with expressions of love and this may not be as strange together as it might seem at first! If you don't know much about Ash Wednesday, it is the start to the season of Lent. It is the day that kicks off 40 days before Easter (excluding Sundays). Lent is a season characterized by three Christian disciplines that help prepare one's heart to fully celebrate the awesomeness of the resurrection of Jesus. Valentine's Day, too, is an important day. Of course, today, it has been commercialized

Our final Advent antiphon and our last podcast for the year. O come, O come, Emmanuel — "God with us" is the title and name. First used by Isaiah as he attempts to encourage a king who was faced with pressure for all sides. Emmanuel is now a title that Christians associate with Jesus, as Messiah, as the Son of God who has come and who will come again. On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or

Christmas is almost here, just a few days remain. Today, we listen and reflect on the sixth and next to last antiphon: O come, Desire of nations... This title for the Messiah, for Jesus, begs the question: is he really the Desire of the nations? We look at the words of Haggai the prophet to learn more. On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins

This week, we can sense and feel that Christmas is drawing nearer. As listen and reflect on the fifth antiphon: O come, thou Daysprings, come and cheer... we look at this unique title that is given to Jesus through the words of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. On the podcast during this season of Advent we have been exploring themes within a particular 'hymn' that has helped worshippers prepare for Jesus's arrival. Since the 8th century, the Church has been singing the “O” antiphons. An antiphon is a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle. The “O” antiphons are so named as each line begins with an “O” — perhaps the most famous