The Encouraging Thomist

The Baptism of Christ Icon The First Sunday after the Epiphany Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11 I. There is a vivid metaphor in literature  that is often used to describe   making a choice that invariably affects the rest of the story.    And that wonderfully vivid metaphor is the phrase:     "a fork in the road." "A fork in the road" simply refers to a road  that splits into two paths,   of which you must make a choice to follow only one of them.     If you have taken a casual drive through the small towns of eastern Arkansas     there are indeed many examples of these forks in the road.  The poet Robert Frost uses this metaphor of the "fork in the road"  in his poem "The Road Not Taken" :   Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,   And sorry I could not travel both   And be one traveler, long I stood   And looked down one as far as I could   To where it bent in the undergrowth;   Then took the other, as just as fair,   And having per

The Holy Innocents Icon Jeremiah 31:7-14 Psalm 84 Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a Matthew 2:13-23 I. Christmas  is a season! If you have heard me say this before,  and equally if you are tired of me saying it again,   its okay!    I'm okay being the broken record. But the fact of the matter is, friends,   that we are surrounded by a culture that only gets to think about Christmas   for 1 day a year!    And you know that this is the case when Walmart's Christmas merchandise     was a whopping 75% off last week,      not even 7 days after we celebrate! But Christmas as a season is also very important for us as Christians  because when we understand this incredibly important occasion   of God becoming incarnate in Jesus Christ Our Lord,    we, at least subconsciously,     allow ourselves to recognize      that there is more to Christmas than just the merry mood       or the jolly good times of opening presents        with some nice hot chocolate to drink. Christmas as a season  is pointing