Christmas 1 Year A

Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7, John 1:1-18

Merry Christmas!

Today is the fourth day of Christmas, and I’m sorry to say that I did not bring any calling birds or french hens or turtle doves or partridge in a pear tree. No instead I bring to you a few words from the brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist... In this season of Christmas, “We are all called to be witnesses and to proclaim the good news of Jesus as we have received it, as we have heard and understood it, as we have experienced it in our own lives.”[1]

The season of Christmas is a special time when we, as the church, focus on proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the rest of the world. This season gives us space to really celebrate what God did for us when Jesus became human. God didn’t give us presents wrapped in pretty paper, but God gave us the greatest gift we could ever receive... Jesus. Our God became like us to know us better, and to give us a chance to know God better.

So how does today’s gospel fit into the season of Christmas? Well, have you ever heard two or three different people tell the same story?  Their stories usually end in the same place, but each person highlights different parts, the parts that they think are the most important or the most interesting.  Sometimes the differences in the same story can make it difficult for us to know what really happened, and other times the differences can help us to hear the entire story. 

Advent 4 Year A

Isaiah 7:10-16, Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25

Last week we heard the message of John the Baptist loud and clear. He was getting the path ready for the Messiah. He was baptizing with water but the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He brought people out of their comfort zone by taking them into the wilderness, to hear his call to repent and get ready. John’s ways of delivering this message were a bit on the dramatic side, but it got it got their attention and they listened. People listened so much so that they became his disciples, they thought that he might be the Messiah even though he said he was preparing them for someone else.

This week we have fast-forwarded a bit in the biblical narrative of John the Baptist.  As he awaits his trial before Herod and what could ultimately be his end John is wondering about Jesus, wondering if Jesus is the one whom he has been preparing the way for, wondering if his cousin could be the Messiah. John was wondering because Jesus did not exactly fit with the idea of the Messiah that the Israelite prophets of old had foretold. The Israelites thought that the Messiah would be more like King David, more of a soldier. They were hoping for a hero, a knight in shining armor who is destined for glory, as many of tales and myths contain.  They were hoping for someone who would ultimately overthrow their foreign occupiers and bring about a time of peace and a right relationship with God.

But that is not who Jesus is, yet it is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus did not come in grand fashion, speaking a big game, and flexing his power. He did not set out to tear down the yoke of oppression and degradation with the sword and the blood of others. No, instead he sought to reorder society according to God’s will and not the corruptible will of humans. Jesus proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God.  

Reflection for Family Ministry e-news

I hope that you and your family are having a blessed Advent season. Please watch this video with your family this week.

Peace,

Lauren+

Advent 1 Year A

Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44

I want to start this morning with a simple prayer.  Jesus be born into my life.  I like this prayer, not only because is short, simple and easy to remember but it contains the essence of Advent.  Whenever we pray this prayer we are asking Jesus to dwell within us and be filled with his love so that we can then in turn be agents of his love in the world.  It is a fitting prayer for the season of Advent because for the next four weeks we will be preparing ourselves to remember Christ’s coming into this world. 

So often we get caught up in the lead up to Christmas that we lose sight of the importance and significance of these next four weeks.  We see ads for all sorts of Christmas goods, presents, trees, lights, food.  We focus so much on December 24th and 25th that these four weeks can go by in the blink of an eye.   We can spend little time thinking about what Advent means and why we take time in our liturgical year to acknowledge and celebrate this period of time.  Advent is more than just preparation for Jesus’ birth it is also a time of preparation for his second coming. 

Our Gospel today speaks to this time of preparation and expectancy. Now one might think that on the first Sunday of Advent we would recount Matthew’s opening chapters leading up to the nativity through the remaining weeks of Advent, but instead we get a story that comes from the end of the Gospel.  Think of this reading as the appetizer, the story to wet your whistle, to get us prepared for the birth of Jesus.