The true Christmas miracle comes in the gift of Emmanuel – God with us. May we approach the Jesus part of Christmas with the same wonder that we have for the Santa part of Christmas, knowing that with Jesus the wonder for us will never end, because the gift of Christ is eternal. Luke 2:1-20
While most people love the seasons of Advent and Christmas, because we think, who doesn’t love celebrating a baby coming into the world and contemplating all the blessings in our lives, when we consider the Gospel text from Matthew today we remember that the news of Christ coming might have unearthed some other emotions for […]
In our text from Isaiah 11 we hear that “a little child shall lead them,” and it is always good to have a friendly reminder that we are called to do our part to bring the peaceable kingdom into our midst. As we do acts of love for those in our lives, those in our […]
The preposition “for” is the key to God’s identity at Christmas time. “For us” and “For you” become life giving connections to the Christmas story. For real! Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 2: 1-20
Today we hear Mary’s song, and it comes from the depths of her soul, where as we all know, Jesus is growing inside of her. As we near Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I pray that we can allow the gift of Christ to sink in to the depths of our souls so that we […]
Today the preacher is preaching to the choir: We rejoice because God rejoices in us. Zephaniah 3:14-20
Messengers like John the Baptist played key roles in the history of our faith. What would it mean for us to not only heed the words of the messenger and prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives, but to become messengers ourselves? And while we might not be able to clothe ourselves […]
Today we hear a parable in our apocalyptic Gospel lesson about a fig tree which is meant to wake us up, to startle us to attention and spur us to action. While only God knows when the Son of Man will be coming in a cloud at the fullness of time, what would it mean […]
On this Holy Night, on this Christmas Eve, I invite you to believe! Believe in the one who came at Christmas as Christ to save. And may your belief make you overflow with thanksgiving so that the love, generosity, and devotion that has been given to you might be shared with others through you.
During this Advent season we are reminded of how Joseph and Mary willingly step out of their comfort zones and follow God’s call for their lives. While being nourished by God’s love and grace can bring us a comfort unlike no other, as Christians we are not called to just rest in that comfort, but […]