James Derkits

" What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." So begins the St. John's Gospel. He reaches way back to the genesis of creation to make sure his readers understand: that which created is born into the creation in Jesus Christ. The Word of God, who spoke light into existence is now  shining with his own presence, as when he was transfigured before his closest disciples, and they saw him as blindingly bright as lightening in their presence.  My wife, Laura, and I lived in another town years ago when a hurricane rolled through and left us without power for a couple of weeks. It was dark at night. We had plenty of camping experience and we were young, so we set up a camp-kitchen in the back yard, and we managed just fine. We really noticed when the sunset in those days. The neighborhood was dark, and the house was very dark at night. Once we got a generator, we turne...

Originally Published in the South Jetty Newspaper  My parents named me after my dad, who was named after my grandad. My son, Eli carries part of that hand-me-down name, as well. My name is a simplified immigrant name that was longer and even held some geography of the old country.  Most of the time I’m called Dad or James, Fr. James or Padre. They all mean something a little different the context helps decide what I am called.  Jesus of Nazareth was and is called by many different names. Blind Bart knew he was the Son of David and Rabbi. Mary Magdeline called him Rabbouni outside the empty tomb, only after he spoke her name. This season when we celebrate Christmas, the winter festival of Christ’s light in the world, we might ponder that Jesus was called Emmanuel. It means God with us, and it is a deep revelation of the nature of God. God is not distant, but came to be with us, among us. God, born in a child to experience the limits of our humanity, and to redeem all human...