Latest from ESAWinter Flight: The Holy Family Crosses MexicoDecember 18, 2018By David Schmidt “Pray that your flight be not in the winter…” It was dusk when I reached the Casa del Peregrino shelter in Mexico City, and the winter chill had already set in. It was November 23, the day after Thanksgiving was celebrated in the U.S.—what many consider the unofficial…... Read more...Entering Darkness to Find LightDecember 17, 2018By Phileena Heuertz Years ago, my friends Jeelan and Nazreen gave me the gift of physical sight. Jeelan was born into an Urdu-speaking folk Muslim family in the heart of South India’s Tamil Nadu. Nazreen was born into a progressive Pakistani-Malay Muslim family. She grew up in Singapore. When Jeelan…... Read more...The 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...
