Scott's Spot

From Scott.... Incarnation.   And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… (John 1:4)   Recently, I attended a wedding in San Antonio, Texas.   The reception was at a museum near the University of the Incarnate Word, and a cousin asked me what my understanding of “incarnate word” was.   I told him that Incarnate Word referred to the religious order who founded the school, but that the term had a deeper meaning.   “Literally,” I told him, “this is the University of the Word Made Flesh ; in other words, the University of Jesus .”   As humans, we have tremendous capacity for abstract thought, unlike any other beings on the planet.   We can recall the past with detail and imagine the future with hope.   We make sense of symbols and ideas, and use the creative gifts of art and music to express ourselves and inspire others.   We are unique among all living things in our ability to do so.   Yet, despite our capac...

I, along wll of you, am struggling to make sense of what happened in Newtown, CT this week.  Our hearts are broken for the children, teachers, school leaders, and their families and friends. As I've attempted to write an entry for to share this week, I'm finding myself blocked.  I will continue to pray for the right words to write. In the meantime, thank you for your patience as I take a day or two extra to complete the Advent Week 3 post.  And, let's continue to pray for Newtown and an end to the senseless violence we are seeing over and over again. Peace, Scott

From Scott..... Mystery. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:8) When I was a young boy, my brothers and I had a vintage collection of Hardy Boys mystery books.   I was a big fan, and I suppose I took to Frank and Joe Hardy’s adventures because I imagined that they were just regular kids like my brothers and I and all the other kids on our block back in the 50s and 60s, except for the fact they were always in some sort of thrilling situation that required their skillful sleuthing. With titles such as “The Clock Ticked,” “The Mystery of Cabin Island,” and “The Clue of the Broken Blade,” Hardy Boys mysteries were pretty formulaic.   Each chapter finished with a little cliffhanger that made you want to read the next, building to a somewhat surprising resolution tied up neatly by all the clues the boys had discovered and deciphered, followed by a happy ending that made you want to rea...

2012 Advent Reflections, Week 1 For many years, my good friend, Kathy Hayes, and I led an annual Advent Reflection Series at First United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi.  We would share our thoughts on how we were preparing for the coming of the Christ-child with our stories and the songs of our friend, Debbie Sewell.  Kathy has sinced moved to Alabama, but she contacted me earlier this week and suggested we resurrect our Advent tradition through sharing in our individual blogs...a brilliant idea (as are all of Kathy's ideas!), so each week, I'll post two Advent reflections--one mine, and one Kathy's--for your reading. If you don't follow Kathy's regular writings on her blog, you are really missing something.  Become her "follower" at kathyhayes.blogspot.com .  And if you like what you read here, share with others who might be interested in taking this Advent journey with us. DSE ________________________________________________________________...