Viral Faith

  Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Nativity Scene When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:1-10 NRSV It is hard to celebrate the birth of Jesus, when the birthplace of Jesus is experiencing the ravages of war.  I wrote elsewhere about the Israel-Hamas...

A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;  they are unfaithful to their God.  Hosea 4:12 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages Revelation 17:15 The book of Revelation has to be the most misunderstood book in the entire Bible.  With its incredible images of judgements, bowls of wrath, trumpets, scrolls, beasts, scorpions, armies, cosmic war and worship, it is often difficult to understand the message.  The book of Revelation is written in a style of literature described as apocalyptic.  Other books of the Bible like that are the book of Daniel and the book of Zechariah.  Apocalyptic literature uses symbols and metaphors to instill hope regarding the current and future interventions of God. Now, what in the world does the book of Revelation have to do with Christmas?  Christmas on one hand seems to be so joyful (I can hear a chorus singing "Joy to World" in my ...