Latest from ESAThe Eve of AdventDecember 14, 2018By Eberhard Arnold In the past God spoke…through the prophets at many times and in various ways. ~ Hebrews 1:1 Advent is a time in which we share in the longing of all those who lived in the distant past. We must feel how, in their suffering and struggle, they…... Read more...Widows: Character Study, Heist Film, Political ThrillerDecember 13, 2018By Joe Tatum Steve McQueen and Gillian Flynn’s new film Widows is equal parts character study, heist film, and political thriller. Based on the 1983 series of the same name, Widows centers on four women who become widowed after their partners die during a heist gone wrong. Set in a…... Read more...La Posada Sin Fronteras: Mary and Joseph at the BorderDecember 12, 2018By Karen González Every year from December 16 to 24, Las Posadas begin in many Latin American countries and immigrant communities in the U.S. Roughly translated, posadas means “inn” or “shelter.” Las Posadas recalls the events in Luke’s Gospel leading up to Jesus’ birth. It’s a Catholic Christian observance with a sung liturgy that’s performed on…... Read more...Proximity and PresenceDecember 11, 2018By Jonathan Brooks At Canaan we are trying to live into our tagline “the church where love makes the difference,” which we have found to be a very dangerous statement. Christians often tell people we love them before we have ever lived with, listened to, or learned from them. If…... Read more...An Advent Reflection: Instruments of Peace for All CreaturesDecember 10, 2018By Tim Mascara On December 4, 1959, Soviet artist Evgeny Vuchetich presented a bronze statue to the United Nations, titled Let Us Beat Our Swords into Plowshares. The sculpture is an image of a man beating a sword into a plowshare, meant to symbolize humankind’s desire to end war—the desire to…... Read more...The Greatest EvilDecember 7, 2018The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid “dens of crime” that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted,…... Read more...I’m Dreaming of a Yellow ChristmasDecember 6, 2018Editor’s note: During the month of December, we’ll be reposting some of our most popular Christmas-themed articles from past years. Here, Ethan Tan’s reflection on “White Christmas” from 2017. By Ethan Tan The white Christmas Bing Crosby dreams of was never mine. I grew up in Malaysia, a Christian, a…... Read more...ESA’s Gift-Giving Guide!December 5, 2018By Nikki Toyama-Szeto My sister is always the best gift-giver in our family. Mention some random interest, and she’ll remember, find it, and wrap it up for you to open on Christmas morning. My brother, on the other hand, as a small kid would find one shoe (just one!) that…... Read more...Love Is the Final FightDecember 4, 2018By John M. Perkins Our country claims to “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Chief among these rights is life, but these…... Read more...
