Family and The Book of Life

Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26  •  Psalm 148  • Colossians 3:12-17  •  Luke 2:41-52 • John 1: 1-18 

This first Sunday after Christmas, also known as Holy Family Sunday, we get a brief glimpse - the only glimpse we have in the gospels - of Jesus' life as a boy, and his relationship with his parents, and with God in Luke's gospel. We also learn, from the first chapter of John, that Jesus was the "true light," as we say together the Nicene creed , reaffirming our faith, and that although he was sent to his own people, he was not accepted by them, and the world did not know him.

The Rev, Dr. Brett Patterson reflects on the passage about Hannah and Samuel, and Paul's letter to the Colossians offering incites about life after we welcome the Christ into our lives in "The Book of Life."

"My soul magnifies the Lord - for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant"

Scripture: Micah 5:2-5a  •  Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7  •  Hebrews 10:5-10  •  Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

In preparation for the coming of God's good news we have spent time in the wilderness with John the Baptist, and considered scripture about the second coming of the Messiah - the Christ. This week we consider all of the hopes, fears, doubts, anxiety, joy and love of Mary, the God bearer and Mother of God who magnifies the Lord from her lowly, humble state. "Little, lowly, humble" are words we see in this week's scripture, from "Bethlehem, a little clan of Judah, to an unwed, pregnant teenager, who "left in haste," to go to her cousin Elizabeth, as Fr. Rick Morley tells us in "from shame to blessing with haste."

And it is from and to the lowly the Holy One comes - the hungry are fed, the rich are sent away empty, the powerful are removed from their homes, as Mary sings to us the Magnificat. How are we to receive this gift of the Christ child, and, in turn, offer his gift of love, compassion, forgiveness, peace and wholeness to others? See Morley's remarks about Elizabeth in "from shame to blessing with haste," and Dan Clendenin's "Blessed is the Child You Will Bear - Advent and Anxiety,"

How can we receive this gift? Consider these words from Anna's Hosannas. (She is no longer online).

"We MUST set aside an empty space, even if it is only a feeding trough in a stable somewhere, that God can visit us.  Emptying ourselves is the greatest act of love we can offer; we make space for the other to enter us and live in us.  Since love is the traditional theme for this Sunday of Advent, it's a perfect match."

 

Rejoice in all things... how can we do that?

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20  • Isaiah 12:2-6  • Philippians 4:4-7  • Luke 3:7-18

Amid the hustle and bustle of the season, year's end work to finish, cleaning, baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping presents, meetings, choir practice, addressing Christmas cards, office and church dinners, worshiping, reading, checking off our lists and agendas, thinking of others...thinking of others? There are a lot of emotions which come into play during Advent and Christmas. How can we rejoice in all things?

We again encounter John the Baptizer, crying out for repentance in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, and this time, in addition to the urgency of his message, we see can hear anger in his voice. What place does this have in the good news coming near? In preparing for the Lord, what are we called to do? See Good News? Ouch that hurts! by Peter Woods.

Yes, we have all experienced or witnessed the full range of emotions and human conditions during the Christmas season. Great joy, wonder, surprise and sadness, loneliness, nostalgia, and anger. And in the midst of all of our humanity, the Lord comes to us, the giver of life, to share all that is life with us. Read "Joy- their Color of Grace" by Christopher Burkett, and the story of the grandmother, Gagi, to see how anger and self pity is overcome by joy, as we prepare for the coming of the Lord, who is doing something wonderful and new.



This isn't the way it's supposed to be

Scripture: Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4  • Luke 1:68-79  • Philippians 1:3-11  •
Luke 3:1-6

In the second Sunday of Advent we read about the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  We read of him in the prophesy of Malachi, and in the Song of Zechariah, the no-nonsense, urgent message of John the Baptist, clothed in skins of wild beasts, sustained on a diet of locusts and honey - Repent of your sins, for the kingdom of God is at hand!

We are in the season of Emmanuel, God come near, and John the Baptist prepares us by telling us to "Repent!" How is this "good news?" See "This isn't the way it's supposed to be," by The Rev. Dr. Joseph S. Pagano. John prepares us for the good news of the gospel, which is Greek for "good news." Pagano has a good discussion of what sin is, and why it is good news that we know that something isn't what it should be, and the liberating power of forgiveness along with a vision of hope and a way to  "shalom," God's peace.

It wouldn't be Advent without "Anticipation." As Lance Moore tells us In "Anticipating the Advent," children know it. If only we adults could reclaim some of the anticipation and surprise, the excitement and wonder, of a child’s Christmas . . . or of the very first Christmas. And yet, today's lesson is about preparedness. How do we prepare to be surprised?