Words of Welcome

Isaiah 9:1-4 I have a word of advice to offer anyone staying in a home not your own.  If you’re walking through the house at night, be sure to turn on the lights. I learned this lesson the hard way during my trip to Oregon in October. I was staying with friends in Portland, and it was the first night of a week-long trip.  Since I needed to take a pill before going to bed, I followed Mark to the kitchen, in the dark. Unfortunately, I forgot that there are stairs that go down into the kitchen. So, when I stepped down into the kitchen, my right foot missed that first stair, and I went flying into the kitchen. When all was said and done, I found myself lying on my back with a very sore ankle. Yes, I twisted my ankle so badly that it swelled up and turned black and blue. But, that didn’t stop me from pushing on with the trip, sore ankle and all! I had people to see, and places to be. Nevertheless,  if we had turned on the light, none of this would have happened. ...

  Isaiah 9:2-7 We all have our favorite Christmas shows. It might be the Christmas Carol or the Grinch – two of my favorites – or maybe White Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life . As a preacher, I have a Christmas Eve tradition of drawing an image or two from these cultural icons as part of my Christmas Eve meditation. My family always asks whether it will be Scrooge, the Grinch, or Charlie Brown. This year, as you’‘ll see, I decided to go with a different Christmas story. This year I’m looking to the reading from Isaiah for guidance, and the opening line of the passage caught my eye: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." So, can you guess which Christmas show features an image of light shining in the darkness? Let me give you a hint. There’s a red nose involved!

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...