Sermons (Page 92)
The Holy Innocents
There is no getting around it, today’s gospel is horrific. It seems like an odd reading for the Christmas season. It appears to be a poor choice to read it on a baptism Sunday. It seems like a reading that we’d want to hide under the carpet and pretend it doesn’t exist. No matter our feelings, it’s here for us to hear. It’s here for us to wrestle with today…
Christmas Eve
Every year, we read the Christmas story. And, by now, it’s so predictable. There are shepherds, angels, and baby Jesus. It’s not surprising that Jesus is born. It’s just, expected. But, this year, I was struck by verse 19, that said “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” At first glance, it appears to be a sentimental statement, like when a parent fondly remembers a child’s early years and the, now, lost simplicity. But, if we look at the Greek language in which this was originally written, what Mary is doing is literally throwing these words around in her head trying to figure out the significance…
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and Christmas day will follow. In the days ahead, some of us will be with our families of origin, which means that Aunt Barb will fall asleep in a chair, your cousin will try to get you into a pyramid scheme, and grandpa will probably say something racist. For others, you might expect Christmas movies and delivered meals as you celebrate. Based on your knowledge and experience, you can roughly predict the days ahead…