December 26, 2021 - The First Sunday after Christmas

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, thank you so much for the gift of your Son through whom we see just how much you love us ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            We’ve all heard that phrase “lost in translation.” If you’ve ever studied another language, you know how difficult it can be to translate an idea from one language to another. In English, we say “she burned the midnight oil” whereas in Spanish you’d say, “se quemó las cejas.” That Spanish phrase though is not a direct translation using the word for oil; rather it means “she burned her eyebrows.” Now, both phrases mean that someone stayed up late at night – one suggesting that you’d need extra oil in the lamp and the other suggesting that maybe she got a bit too close to the flame while reading or writing late at night. But neither of these phrases is actually about staying up late in any literal sense, you have to teach someone what the idiom means.

December 25, 2021 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            In his lifetime, he was the most powerful man in the world, his name is one that changed the course of history, and Luke puts him at the center of the story that we heard this morning. His name was Gaius Octavius and he was born in 63 BC as the nephew of Julius Caesar. Octavius was adopted by Julius and became his son. So when Julius was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC, the 19-year-old Octavius set his sights on that now vacant seat of power. Through a bloody campaign, Octavius consolidated all of the power in himself and became the first Roman Emperor. When he came into this power, he took the name Caesar Augustus, which means “great,” and he ruled until his death in 14 AD. Even 2,000 years later, he is remembered as one of history’s most influential and powerful rulers.

December 24, 2021 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, you have brought all things together in your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord; help us to grow in him and he in us ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            The great American novelist Flannery O’Conner was a woman of devout faith. In a conversation once, someone suggested to her that it is best to interpret the Holy Eucharist as a symbol, to which she is reported to have replied, “If it’s only a symbol, to hell with it.” That sort of thinking is indicative of how we have been taught to understand, or really, misunderstand symbols. We think of symbols as something like a substitute – instead of writing out “prescription” we write “Rx.” Or instead of writing “Women” on the bathroom door, we put a stick figure wearing a skirt. Or instead of spelling out the company name, we use a logo to symbolize the company. With this understanding of a symbol, we get where O’Conner is coming from – symbols, if they are simply a substitute or stand-in, are worthless. “Just give us the real thing instead of some empty symbol,” we say.

December 19, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            What would it take to get you up on your feet and dancing in the aisle? What news could fill you with such joy that you couldn’t contain yourself? Maybe news that there are no new Coronavirus cases and that the pandemic is over? Perhaps learning that your loans have all been forgiven, that you’ve been accepted into your dream school on a full scholarship, that the last scan shows no signs of cancer, that the family member that you haven’t spoken to in a decade wants to find reconciliation, that your favorite team has won the championship?

December 12, 2021 - The Third Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            “What should we do?” That’s the question that Christians continually wrestle with. God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth, and what should we do? Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and what should we do? The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us, and what should we do? Embedded within this question is the assumption that faith is more than a set of ideas or a side to be on, rather faith has implications for our lives. The Churchy way of saying this is that faith is incarnational – meaning that faith is about physical things, that faith is embodied, that faith is observable. And so we always have that question– what should we do?

December 5, 2021 - The Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Whether it’s our health, home maintenance, or school work, that’s pretty good wisdom. Even if you are last minute, fly by the seat of your pants sorts of person, we all know that there are some situations in which it’s simply too late for preparations, like going to the store to buy a fire extinguisher after the fire has started. As I said last Sunday, the Collects for Advent are splendid prayers to guide us through this season and today’s is no exception: Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.