Words of Welcome

  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 Gabrie...

The Visitation  Luke 1:46-55                 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 ). After Mary heard Gabriel’s message, she had a choice. She could accept this mission, or she could turn it down. You see, God gives us choices. Although Mary could have said no, she said yes, even though she did raise some good questions about how this was going...

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...