Christmas Archives | Philip Yancey

God’s Masterpiece

Philip Yancey — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:12:03 +0000

More than two centuries before the Reformation, a theological debate broke out pitting the premier theologian Thomas Aquinas against an upstart Franciscan priest from Britain, John Duns Scotus. The heart of the debate circled around the question, “Would the event we celebrate at Christmas have occurred if humanity had not disobeyed God?” Like most theologians, ... Read more

The post God’s Masterpiece appeared first on Philip Yancey.

Waiting for the Light

Philip Yancey — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:03:19 +0000

“Christmas Eve in prison is so terrible because a wave of sentimentality passes through the gloomy building. Everyone thinks of his own loved ones, for whom he is longing; everyone suffers because he doesn’t know how they will be celebrating the festival of divine and human love. Recollections of childhood come surging back, almost overwhelming ... Read more

The post Waiting for the Light appeared first on Philip Yancey.

The Sword of Christmas

Philip Yancey — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 10:29:42 +0000

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword,” Jesus told his disciples, twelve fresh recruits who on hearing that must have wondered what they were getting into. Jesus would later rebuke Peter for wielding a literal sword, and by that ... Read more

The post The Sword of Christmas appeared first on Philip Yancey.

The Hopes and Fears

Philip Yancey — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 08:48:01 +0000

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Christmas. As I sifted through memories of the season while writing my memoir, Where the Light Fell, I better understood why. In my elementary school, Christmas called for a major event in the auditorium, complete with a concert by the school band and chorus. For some reason I volunteered ... Read more

The post The Hopes and Fears appeared first on Philip Yancey.

Disturbing the Universe

Philip Yancey — Fri, 25 Dec 2020 07:38:12 +0000

Unlike most people, I do not feel much Dickensian nostalgia at Christmastime. The holiday fell just a few days after my father died early in my childhood, and all my memories of the season are darkened by the shadow of that sadness. For this reason, perhaps, I am rarely stirred by the sight of manger scenes ... Read more

The post Disturbing the Universe appeared first on Philip Yancey.

Melancholy Angels

Philip Yancey — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 02:17:47 +0000

In my years of writing, I’ve not paid much attention to angels. I’ve never knowingly encountered one — knowingly, I say, for how could I tell for certain? Supernatural go-betweens, angels operate in the invisible world, rarely revealing themselves to those of us who occupy the material world. I think of angels as something like ... Read more

The post Melancholy Angels appeared first on Philip Yancey.

Hope Amid the Gloom

Philip Yancey — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 07:12:09 +0000

To startled shepherds an angel announced, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” I must admit, as 2017 comes to an end I’m not sensing much joy and good news. Instead, a spirit of fear and division hangs like a cloud over the year. ... Read more

The post Hope Amid the Gloom appeared first on Philip Yancey.

Snow on Snow

Philip Yancey — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 23:19:32 +0000

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail… From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? (Job 38:22, 29-30) We moved ... Read more

The post Snow on Snow appeared first on Philip Yancey.