Sermons (Page 129)

It finally happened this week. After resisting for so long, I succumbed to that upcoming holiday – the one we haven’t started celebrating yet – and I listened to Christmas music. Even worse, I even sang along! And I know, during this time of waiting we call Advent we have to be patient. I was doing so well too! My end of the semester reading and writing was perfectly accompanied by the meditative and anticipatory music of Advent as I awaited both Christ’s coming and the coming end of my school work. The Church tells us to spend this time to prepare ourselves for Christmas – and if you were here last week, you know that I even preached about that from this very pulpit! So I confess to you, my siblings in Christ, that I am already looking forward to the end of this week with joyous anticipation and living into that Christmas spirit a bit…

How are you all doing this morning? I ask because I know that this can be a difficult time of year for many people. This can be a time of business and stress: Presents have to be bought, the days are getting ever darker, and there are those sometimes awkward work holiday parties to attend. And I know that for some people, the holidays are a painful reminder of absent loved ones. At seminary, the stress has been off the charts recently thanks to finals and the end of the semester. Or maybe you’re just not a fan of snow and woke up to a nice layer of it this morning. Some have said that the year of 2016 has been an especially difficult time to deal with. This year has been characterized with the deaths of beloved celebrities, numerous mass shootings or incidents of violence, and an especially nasty campaign and election. For whatever reason, I know that this time of year it can be hard to be in the Christmas spirit that’s been pervasive in media and in retail stores for weeks now. It can be hard to find the joy that we’ve been told we should feel…