Words of Welcome

Luke 2:1-20 For the past fifty years probably most of us have watched  A Charlie Brown Christmas at least a few times. I’ve been watching it since childhood, and our family continues to watch it each year along with How the Grinch Stole Christmas and as many versions of the Christmas Carol we can get in.  We’ve watched all three so far this Advent-Christmas season. As you may remember, Charlie Brown is struggling to understand the true meaning of Christmas. One of the reasons he’s unhappy is that the season seems so commercialized. He’s just not feeling it. Finally Charlie Brown decided to seek counseling from Lucy. After he paid his five cents, she suggested he needed a Christmas project, like directing the Christmas play. Of course, as often happens with Charlie Brown, this doesn’t go well.  His search for happiness is obstructed by Lucy’s desire for cash, Snoopy’s participation in a Christmas decorating contest that could win him lots of money, and Sally’s request that he

  James Tissot, The Magnificat Luke 1:39-55     In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that God had chosen her to bear a child, saying:      “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  31  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.    He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.    He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”   ( Luke 1:31-33 ). If you were Mary, what would you make of that announcement? Would you accept the mission Gabriel sets before her? Or would you say, thank you very much for the honor but I’d prefer not to take on the job.       Mary could have said no. It was her choice. But after she asked some very pointed questions of Gabriel she said yes. In saying yes, Mary followed the example of other prophets by receiving h

  Philippians 4:4-9 We’ve finally lit the pink candle. People often wonder why the Advent wreath has a pink candle. They also want to know when to light it, especially if they are tasked with lighting the candles. Well, here’s the reason why we have a pink candle and light it on the Third Sunday of Advent. It’s pink and we light it on the Third Sunday of Advent because today is, according to tradition, Joy Sunday. Although we’re following a more recent tradition and using blue, the usual color scheme for Advent is purple. Purple is considered to be a more solemn color. That’s why we use it during Lent. Both Advent and Lent are supposed to be seasons of reflection and repentance in preparation for a major liturgical event. If that’s true, it seems appropriate to use a softer color on Joy Sunday. After all, how can you be somber on a day when you hear Paul call on us to “rejoice in the Lord always?” Although Paul is sitting in a prison cell and has every reason to be bitter and angry

  Philippians 1:3-11 Last Sunday, we lit the candle of hope. Today we light the Peace candle. The message of peace is found in Paul’s greeting in his letter to the Philippian church. He offers a word of “grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” ( Phil. 1:2 ) This word of peace comes from Paul even as he sits in a jail cell, and he is at peace with God and the world because of the partnership that exists between himself and the congregation at Philippi. Paul speaks here of his prayer that love would overflow them as they live as partners in God’s grace, which leads to a “harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” It is this partnership that is rooted in love and grace that leads to the harvest of righteousness that serves as the source of Paul’s joy as he sits in a prison cell. What Paul is talking about here is an intimate friendship with the Philippians that brings joy even as he sits in this jail cell. He’s g

  Luke 21:25-36 It’s Thanksgiving Weekend and the First Sunday of Advent. As you can see, the sanctuary is ready for our celebration of Advent and Christmas. The beautiful new blue cloth on the table says it well: “O Come Emmanuel.” With this invitation to Emmanuel, we can ready ourselves to welcome the one who brings God’s presence into our midst. We opened worship singing “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.” This prayer has two meanings. First of all, it speaks to the messianic hopes and dreams that helped define Jesus’ earthly ministry. But it also speaks to our future hopes and dreams, as we pray that God would free us from our fears and sins so we might find our rest, as Augustine suggested in God’s presence.  The word we hear from the Gospel of Luke this morning has an apocalyptic ring to it. It’s as if Robot, from Lost in Space, is saying to us: “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!” Yes, keep your eyes and ears on the alert for signs that the day of th

2 Samuel 23:1-7 Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, knew that the  Roman emperor didn’t appreciate it when people challenged his authority. So, when Pilate asked Jesus “Are you the King of the Jews?” he wanted to know if Jesus was going to cause him problems with the emperor. Jesus answered this question by telling Pilate that yes he was a king but his kingdom wasn’t of this world ( John 18:33-37 ). Since Pilate didn’t know what to make of this answer he decided that executing Jesus was the wisest course of action.   Pilate didn’t quite understand the meaning of Jesus’ reply but he is in good company. Theologians have been trying to make sense of that statement to this day. If Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, then what does that mean for us?  We know from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that Jesus’ primary message had to do with the kingdom of God. This is especially true of his parables. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus even tells a group of religious leaders

  Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25 Why do we gather together each Sunday morning? Is it because we all agree about our theology, politics, or music styles? Probably not. Sometimes being together isn’t easy, and it never has been. Just read Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and the Galatians and you’ll discover that the church has always struggled to fully embody Jesus’ vision for the church. So, if sameness isn’t the reason we gather, what is the glue that holds us together? According to Hebrews 10, that glue is our common confession that Jesus is the high priest who offered himself once for all as the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. The Book of Hebrews speaks to a community trying to navigate a hostile cultural context. Discouragement led some folks in the congregation to wonder if being church, was worth the time and energy put into it? The author of Hebrews responds to these concerns by telling the readers to hold fast to their confession of faith in Jesus and not neglect to gather toge

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 The Book of Ruth is rooted within the larger biblical story that recounts God’s faithfulness to the covenant of blessing first made with Abraham and Sarah and then reaffirmed with Moses, David, and Jesus. Even when the people of God break this covenant, God remains faithful to it. That’s because God’s steadfast love endures forever.  The story told in the Book of Ruth takes place during the period of the Judges. While Israel has made a home in the Promised Land, it’s nothing more than a loose confederation of tribes. These tribes face hostile neighbors like the Philistines, a challenging landscape, and a tendency to stray from the ways of God. The larger story of this period is told in the Book of Judges , where you will find a constant refrain: “the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Eventually, the people decided they needed a king, and so in the end God provided Israel with the monarchy of David and his descendants. What we read here provide

  William Blake, Job and His Family  Job 42:1-6, 10-17 We’ve explored a few passages from the second half of the book of Job. What we’ve heard so far is a bit unsettling. We’ve met a God who is willing to make people suffer just to prove a point. Although God uses a hired hand to do this, God is said to be responsible for this “evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). As we’ve seen, this doesn’t sit well with Job. He wants to know why he has suffered at the hand of God. After all, he is innocent and righteous before God. So why are bad things happening to a good person like Job? Although the Bible is a sacred text, it’s also a very complex and human book. At times it even argues with itself. So, many of us read Job as a response to the conventional wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs. The message of Proverbs is quite simple. If you do the right thing, good things should happen. If you do bad things, then you’ll reap what you sow. That message makes sense on the surfa