Star of wonder, star of light, guide us to God’s perfect light. Amen.
“What kind of God would do this?” That was the refrain of the sermon that I preached on Christmas Eve and it’s still a good question to ask at the Feast of the Epiphany. The oddity of the story continues as does the grace that flows from it. And so, we are left pondering what kind of God would do this.
Lectionary Readings (full text from Matthew)
In the name of the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s Gospel text is a tough one. Perhaps the toughest one. It’s often called the “Slaughter of the Innocents,” and it troubles me every time I read or preach on it. As the preacher, I had a choice on which text to preach today. And, truth be told, the appointed readings for today would have given me an easy way out. The assigned verses for today skip 16 through 18, the part about Herod’s rage and murder. But we can’t just cut out the hard parts of the story – either in the Bible or in our lives. The story of Christmas is incomplete if we only tell the pageant and crèche version of it. The whole of the story is not “silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright” because there’s also the Coventry Carol, “Herod the king, in his raging, charged he hath this day. His men of might in his own sight, all young children to slay.”
In the name of the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ. Amen.
The most theologically rich verse in all of Scripture may very well be John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” In the Episcopal Church, the Gospel text for both Christmas Day and the First Sunday after Christmas is John 1; which means that in my 16 years of ordained ministry I’ve preached on this passage nearly 30 times. Each year, I wonder “How will this text speak this year?” And, without fail, the Word continues to speak – and it’s often verse 14 that does the heavy lifting. This year, what the Spirit drew my attention to is the final part of that verse where John writes that this Word is “full of grace and truth.”
In the name of the Word made flesh – Jesus Christ. Amen.
The facts on the ground are that on December 16, 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty boarded a shipping vessel in the Boston Harbor and threw 342 chests of tea in the water. Seen from the British perspective, a lawless mob destroyed property and caused hardship for businesses and consumers alike. This was an unnecessary and violent act of terrorism. From the perspective of many colonists, this was a group of patriots standing up to tyranny and burdensome taxation after their petitions were ignored. This was a necessary stand against oppression and began the path towards liberty. How we tell the story changes the story.
O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.
If you had to summarize the Gospel into a single thought or sentence, what might you come up with? Many years ago, I remember that The Christian Century magazine published an article that asked leading authors and theologians to summarize the Gospel in seven words. There were some lovely and interesting responses such as: “God, through Jesus Christ, welcomes you anyhow,” “In Christ, God’s yes defeats our no,” and “God was born; we can be reborn.” It does take a bit of reflection and wordsmithing, but it’s an good exercise to really think about what are the most essential elements of faith.
O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.
Isn’t it a relief when someone asks the question that you have but were too embarrassed to ask? John the Baptizer asks the question that many wonder about – “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Over the past several months, our family has really been enjoying watching the television series The Chosen, and when you adapt the Gospel stories into that format, you have to fill in some gaps. One of the things in the show that the disciples are constantly wondering about and saying is, “Jesus, this is so great that you’re teaching with such wisdom and healing all these people, and multiplying the loaves and fish, wow, that was really something. But Rome is still occupying our Promised Land, the Temple leadership is focused on power and wealth while ignoring the needs of the people, and the throne of David is empty, so, uh, when are we going to march on Jerusalem and start the regime change?”