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Foretold by the prophet Isaiah seven centuries before it occurred, and now over 2,000 years after the event, the birth of Jesus in the somewhat obscure town of Bethlehem in Palestine is still the greatest story ever told. What makes this Christmas story unique and special, worthy of so many Hollywood movies and countless village…
Here’s a question for you. Why the pink, or rose-colored, candle on our Advent wreath this morning? After all, the other three candles are all either violet or perhaps a shade of blue. Need a hint? Well, consider that this is the third Sunday in our current Advent season, a time of reflection and even…
Today may we consider what it means to find springtime in December.In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In many parts of the country, late fall weather can be surprising. In fact, it can seem like spring. Temperatures can be unseasonably mild and people can even walk around in their shirtsleeves or…
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked…Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”[1] According to the way Christians tell their story, Jesus is crucified. His disciples, who love him so greatly…
A man and a woman are chatting over dinner. The woman says, “John, are we ever going to get married?” The man obviously doesn’t want to answer this question. He splutters a little and replies, “Uh, thank you.” It works! The woman is so pleased to hear these two words that she forgets all about…
His name is righteousness. Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! There are few places in the Eucharist more moving than these words from the Sanctus that we sing Sunday after Sunday. As we intone them we echo Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who, centuries before them, echoed the Psalmist and…
A book of remembrance was written before him… Malachi 3:16 There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, of an American professor of philosophy doing research in Asia. Deeply involved in her work, she asks a Japanese colleague to explain some of the complexities of Shinto and Buddhist belief. The Japanese scholar at first demurs. But the…
Someone has described a saint as an ordinary Christian who does ordinary things extraordinarily well. That’s certainly not the New Testament definition, although it’s not a bad start. If you look at the two New Testament lessons appointed for today, the one used for Service 1 gives a vision of heaven, filled with people wearing…
With the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus we are nearly at the end of Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ journey from the region between Galilee and Samaria up to the city of Jerusalem (17:11 – 19:27) for the events leading to the Cross. The stories and parables told in this section all point to one of…
We say in the Declaration of Independence that everyone is created equal. In general, we know better than that. All of us are not equal in most things. We are not equal in height, in intelligence, in ability, in our opportunities in life, in life expectancy, in moral or other virtue. We are not equal…
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