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Praying about the flow of time: Meeting Jesus as a baby

Lynne Baab • Tuesday January 28 2025

A group of young adults gathers late on a Sunday night in a cathedral. They fill the pews, sprawl on the floor, and sit with their backs against the enormous pillars that hold up the ornate ceiling. They are waiting to begin Compline (pronounced COM•plin), a simple worship service with only a few psalms and prayers, a Scripture reading, and a hymn. The huge cathedral organ will ring out with Bach’s glorious tones at the end of the service.

Christians have been participating in Compline services for more than a thousand years. A brief prayer from Luke 2 is part of the...

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Praying about the flow of time: Chinese New Year

Lynne Baab • Tuesday January 21 2025

Did you know apples play a role in both the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Chinese New Year? The symbolism is different. Jews often eat applesauce and other foods made with apples to symbolize their desire for sweetness in the coming year. In both Mandarin and Cantonese, the first syllable of the words “apple” and “peace” are the same. So, some Chinese people eat apples to symbolize their desire for peace in the New Year.

Chinese New Year is January 29 this year, and people in Asia and those of Asian descent all over the world will eat a diverse range...

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Praying about the flow of time: God is light

Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 15 2025

The psalmist sees God as “wrapped in light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2). “I am the light of the world,” says Jesus (John 8:12). When John sees Jesus in a vision, Jesus’s face is “like the sun shining with full force” (Revelation 1:16). Later in Revelation, Jesus calls himself the “bright morning star” (22:16).

For the past several years, when I pray for people, I often name three things I want for them: God’s shalom, God’s protection, and God’s light. Naming God’s light almost every day in my prayers has made me more aware of the significance of the strong imagery...

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Praying about the flow of time: Praying for the New Year with symbols

Lynne Baab • Thursday January 9 2025

The prayer leader showed me a plastic bin full of pieces of fabric. All were solid colors, and I could see a range of blues, a forest of greens, and the yellows, reds, oranges, pinks, and purples of every kind of flower. She told me about the way she uses the box to lead groups into prayer.

She asks people to think about one praise and one concern. What color represents each prayer, she asks. Some people might be able to identify colors right away. Others may need to rummage in the box to identify a color that connects with one...

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