Words of Welcome

  Matthew 2:1-12 Most creche scenes feature both shepherds and the three kings who kneel before the baby Jesus lying in a manger. While this setup makes for a nice Christmas scene, Matthew and Luke tell very different stories about Jesus’ birth. Luke offers us shepherds while Matthew tells a story about magi who follow a star to Judea. In other words, the shepherds and the three kings come from two different stories.  This morning we’re following Matthew’s version, in which Matthew’s magi from the east, who follow a star to Jerusalem where they visit King Herod. They ask Herod where they might find the newborn king of the Jews, whose star they saw rising in the sky.  This request made by the magi frightened Herod because he didn’t know that such a child had been born in his kingdom. Besides, he didn’t welcome possible rivals to his rule over Judea. Nevertheless, the crafty king asked his advisors where the Messiah was to be born. They pointed the magi to Bethlehem b...

  Ephesians 1:3-14 With a new year beginning, we can begin thinking about what 2022 will bring? We start the year with COVID still hanging over our heads, along with much political uncertainty and polarization. It’s easy to get discouraged, but we’re not without hope. We don’t know what this year will bring, but we take confidence in the promise that God has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” So blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We opened worship singing about a “star shining in the east beyond them far, and to the earth it gave a great light.” [ Glory to God , 147 v. 2]. We’ll close our worship singing about the “Star of wonder, Star of night, Star with royal beauty bright” that will “guide us to thy perfect light!” [ Glory to God , 151]. These hymns promise that God will guide us through life, blessing us with spiritual gifts and calling us to ministries of blessing. As we follow the star, guided by God...

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 re...

  Psalm 148 The joyous strains of the angel voices singing praise to God can be heard echoing from the heavens and across the mountains. They invite us to join in singing  “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!” Yes, “Glory to God in the Highest!” And as Isaiah declared: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” ( Is. 61:10 ). Let us, therefore, join this joyous chorus that brings together the voices of heaven and earth and all that dwells within them, in shouting “Praise the Lord!” Or, if you prefer the Hebrew, we can shout “Hallelujah!”   This morning we gather on the third day of Christmas, which means our true loves should give us “three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree!” That means there are still nine more days of Christmas before the season closes on January 6, the Day of Epiphany. January 6 is the day western C...

Ephesians 1:3-14 Back in the day P.E. classes posed certain difficulties for those of us who weren’t all that athletic. I doubt things have changed much since my day. When it came time to divide into teams, some of us stood fearfully hoping we wouldn’t be the last one chosen. That would make us someone akin to the last player chosen in the NFL draft. They call that person “Mr. Irrelevant.” It’s better not to be drafted than to be drafted and forever known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” No one wants to be the last one chosen! I know because I’ve been there.   At the same time, there is joy to be found in being chosen. When we applied for the sabbatical grant, we didn’t know whether we would get it or not. So, when we received word that the committee had chosen us to receive the grant, well, that brought great joy. It’s good to be chosen!!  On this last Sunday of the Christmas season, which is also the first Sunday of a new year and a new decade, we hear this wor...

Mount Shasta from South Gate Meados Psalm 148 “Praise the Lord from the heavens!”  “Praise the Lord from the earth!”  “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above earth and heaven.” (Ps. 148: 1, 7, 13).  With these words, the Psalmist calls us to join together in worship as we continue the Christmas journey on this last Sunday of the year and decade. During this Christmas season, we encounter Emmanuel, the child born in Bethlehem, who reveals the message of the incarnation that “God is with us.”  In this celebration, we’re reminded, as Gregory of Nazianzus puts it, in him “the heavenly one is now earthly.” Because “Christ is in the flesh, exult with trembling and joy” [ Festal Orations , p. 61]. We began our service singing “All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing; Alleluia, Alleluia!” This hymn is a paraphrase of  Saint Francis’ “Canticle of the Sun,” which is i...

Philippians 1:3-11 We entered Advent last Sunday with the choir leading us through the Christmas story in narrative and song. They did us a favor by connecting the biblical story with our contemporary story. They reminded us that the Holy Family ended up as refugees, guided by angels to safety. With that broader story in mind, both ancient and modern, we hear the Advent invitation to prepare ourselves for the Advent that took place some two thousand years in the past and the Advent that is yet to come. The path we are taking will lead to that moment on Christmas Eve when we will hear the message that  Jesus is the reflection of God’s glory, and the one who sustains all things by his word ( Heb. 1:1-4 ). Hearing that message we can join the angels in singing “ Gloria in excelsis Deo ”; “Glory to God in the highest.” Christmas Eve will come soon enough, but there is still more to do before we get there. Last Sunday, we lit the candle of hope, and today we lit the P...

Nativity with the Prophets Ezekiel & Isaiah Isaiah 7:10-17 When I was younger, we would occasionally drive to Portland, which was a 300-mile drive from Klamath Falls. On a good day the trip took about five hours. Of course, if you’re a child that’s a long time, and you can get antsy. So my brother and I would pepper our parents with questions about when we would arrive. Over time, we learned to watch for certain signs that signaled that we were getting close. One sure sign was the big Farmers Insurance building that sat alongside Interstate 5. When we saw it, we knew that Portland was just around the corner! The season of Advent offers signs that Christmas is close at hand. Each week we’ve lit candles that help us prepare to receive the promise of Christmas.  Since we lit the fourth candle this morning, which is the candle of love, we can be quite certain that the next candle we light will be the Christ Candle, marking the coming of Christmas. So, be on the alert,...

Luke 2:41-52 This seems to be a season of anniversaries, and believe it or not, it’s been twenty-five years since Macaulay Culkin spent Christmas Home Alone. If you saw that movie, an eight-year-old boy somehow got left behind when the family headed out for Christmas. Fortunately, due to the ingenuity of this child a home invasion is foiled. The movie raises the question: how do you leave your child behind?  This morning we’ve heard another left behind story. The child in question is, of course, Jesus. According to Luke Jesus and his family have traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When the family returns home to Nazareth, Jesus stays behind. It’s not until a day later that the family realizes that Jesus isn’t in the caravan. So, they head back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days of searching the city, Mary and Joseph finally find their lost child sitting in the Temple talking theology with the theology faculty.    It probably would be ...

Luke 2:1-20 For the past fifty years many of us have chosen to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special. As you may remember, Charlie Brown is struggling to understand the true meaning of Christmas. The commercial side of the season doesn’t hold any meaning for him. Finally, and after his failure to find the “proper” Christmas tree ends his attempt at directing the Christmas pageant, he cries out in near panic: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”At that point Linus the Theologian takes center stage and recounts the Christmas story as told by Luke. After coming off the stage, Linus says to him:  “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” We’ve come here tonight because we want to take hold of this message shared with us by Linus the Theologian. Like Charlie Brown, we want to know what Christmas is really about. Luke offers us the most recognizable version of the Christmas story. He tells us about a very pregnant Mary who accompanies...

Micah 5:2-5a O Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. These words written long ago by Phillips Brooks have long been a favorite of carolers. In our mind’s eye we imagine a small quiet town, where not much is happening. It’s not a place where you would expect something momentous to occur. And yet, the carol declares that the everlasting Light shines in its streets. As Advent moves quickly toward its culmination in Christmas, we begin to see signs that the Everlasting Light is about to shine. We’ve been preparing these past several weeks for this day, and wait in hopeful expectation for the full revealing of this Light of God. Although Bethlehem was a small town, it was also the hometown of King David. Therefore, in times of trial even in its smallness Bethlehem served as a bea...