John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

• Mark 1:6-8

“In his album The Eagle, country-western singer Waylon Jennings tugs at my heartstrings. One of his tunes, ‘Old Church Hymns and Nursery Rhymes,’ takes me back to the simple days of yesteryear and swamps me with nostalgia. ‘With a child’s wisdom, passin’ time, / Singin’ old church hymns and nursery rhymes.’
“As another Christmas rolls around, seems to me the nudge of a little ‘child’s wisdom’ might help put things in perspective. So this year I’ve decided to look at everything through the eyes…