Christmas Sunday

Psalm: Psalm 96
Old Testament: Isaiah 9:2-7
Gospel: Luke 2:1-14, 15-20
Epistle: Titus 2:11-14

Merry Christmas!

Today is both Christmas and a Sunday! Perhaps you have heard the consternation this is causing in the Protestant community about whether there should be a church service today or not. I would rather not rehash all the arguments I have seen on social media, but I think it is important to remember that Christmas is first, and always, a Christian religious holiday. Before it became a retail blockbuster, a day to spend with family, or a day off work, it was a time to celebrate God coming incarnate into a baby. Christmas is much like Easter, which is a day that a church service is natural a part of the celebration. Church on Easter is easy because it always falls on a Sunday. But somehow we manage to both go to church and spend time with family. In my estimation, the question this year should not be, should we have church this year, rather, we should ask ourselves why we don't have church every year on Christmas?

Advent Week 4

Psalm: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Old Testament: Isaiah 7:10-16 
Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25
Epistle: Romans 1:1-7

Today we look at the Christmas story through the eyes of Matthew. His account seems to get the short stick around Christmas and Christmas Eve in favor of Luke's. And indeed, this year on Christmas Day we are reading from Luke for the first time during Advent. Matthew however gives us some interesting details that we often incorporate into our Christmas story and nativities, especially the wise men that only he tells us about.

Advent Week 3

Psalm: Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55
Old Testament: Isaiah 35:1-10
Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11
Epistle: James 5:7-10

Welcome to week three of Advent! By now the holiday preparation are in full swing, or if they're not your trouble. Hopefully, you have some company coming to look forward to or you may be traveling yourself. Christmas times is partially about the joys of family and friends getting together and going to Christmas parties and dinner at the family's house. This aspect of the holiday time reminds me of one of the key aspects of Advent, and indeed the word's definition: arrival or coming. Advent is not just about God coming to earth in the incarnation, but also about humanity coming back to God. In our our reading today from Matthew, John, unable to go himself, sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if he was the Messiah. The question couldn't have been asked and the answer given without John's disciples coming to Jesus.

Advent week 2

Psalm: Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Old Testament: Isaiah 11:1-10
Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12
Epistle: Romans 15:4-13

This week I want to focus on the theme of hope. This is a difficult place to get to in the midst of waiting. Last week, with my midweek Limerick, I focused on waiting. We all understand waiting, as I said, for things big and small. But how do we, in the middle of (to be honest) crappy times, still find hope? What hope do we have after 2,000 years in still waiting in expectation for Christ's return (another Advent theme)?

An Advent Limerick

Wait!? A word we all hate with a passion

We prefer to spend our time a dashin'

We want things real soon

Feed on golden spoon

Yet still God says it remains a fashion

A little limerick, because that is the only type of poetry I can write. All of us are in various states of waiting. It is just a fact of life. Kelcey and I find ourselves in a season of waiting in a few big things as many of you know. Most recently, we have been buying a house, which as many of you know is a huge process. Even now, after we have closed on the sale, we still have to wait 2 weeks to move in! It has tested our patience, but is also exciting.