Wired Jesus Podcast

I have… a terrible need… shall I say the word?… of religion. Then I go out at night and paint the stars.

– Vincent Van Gogh

I’ve put myself back into the discipline of morning prayer and meditation and I see blogging as part of that time of reflection. Even with the sun outside today, the general darkness of the winter puts me in a more (I don’t know) somber mood, so my reading and music reflects that.

If you are looking for a last minute Christmas gift or just a great book to savor like a gourmet meal, I recommend The Hand of God: Thoughts and Images Reflecting the Spirit of the Universe. With an introduction by Sharon Begley and edited by Michael Reagan, it is composed of beautiful, full color photos taken by the Hubble telescope with quotes from religious authors, astronomers, and other writers. Its one of those books that you read one line and look at a picture for five minutes.

At this time of year when we as Christians talk about the mystery of the incarnation, of how in someway the human mind cannot comprehend, God became truly real in the person of Jesus and fully entered human history and the human condition, we kind of gloss over the implications of that statement. On one hand, it sounds like complete nonsense that no rational person would rightly believe. On the other hand, if on some level we perceive it to be true, then a book like The Hand of God takes it to a level of infinite wonder and awe at the possibilities and the relationship between the human race and the Divine, between every human individual and the creator of the universe.