January 6, 2020 - The Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

May Jesus Christ, the light of the world, guide us into the safe harbor of his love. Amen.

            There’s a classic book on Christian mission called “The Open Secret,” and that’s what the Feast of the Epiphany is all about. Through the seasons of Advent and Christmas, the sermons all focused on the belief at the very center of Christianity: the Incarnation. This the belief that God, the creator and sustainer of all things took on flesh and lived a human life in Jesus of Nazareth. It can be easy to overlook just how radical a claim this is. Superman arriving from the planet Krypton or a seed growing in a beanstalk that takes us into the land of giants is actually more rationally predictable than the Incarnation. In Jesus, the infinite becomes finite, the limitless takes on limits, the indefinable is defined. And our own Anglican tradition has emphasized and been shaped by a focus on the Incarnation as the starting point of our identity and theology. The Incarnation is when this unknowable God becomes known; when the secret is opened.

January 5, 2020 - The Second Sunday of Christmas

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Have you ever been at a party or social event where you didn’t know anyone? Now, some of you are extroverts and are thinking, “What’s the problem with that?” But maybe it isn’t a party, maybe it’s a hostile meeting at work and everyone in the room is an adversary. Perhaps it’s an airport terminal on a late-night layover. Or maybe you’re in a hospital waiting room, full of anxiety. If you can imagine any of these situations, you know that what makes these tense, uncomfortable, and lonely situations better is having an old friend show up out of nowhere to be with you.

December 29, 2019 - First Sunday of Christmas

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Word become flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Through the Sundays of Advent, I preached about the centrality of the Incarnation in our faith and about how this belief is at the foundation of our Anglican theology. Now that we’ve arrived in the season of the Incarnation this claim of our faith is on full display. As we heard in this morning’s collect, “God has poured upon us the new light of the Incarnate Word.” This light that has been kindled in our world is to be our guiding light. Christmas is so much more than a day, it is the claim that God has come to us to be the Light of the world.

December 25, 2019

Lectionary Readings (Epistle reading)

In the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Over the past month, we’ve been focusing on the Incarnation, the central tenet of Christianity that God became human in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth. This belief is most clearly seen in this morning’s reading from John: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” But to say that Jesus is God incarnate can be a rather ambiguous claim. Yes, the whole point of the Incarnation is that God became specific and tangible in Jesus, but when we say that “God became man,” what do we really mean? After all, the word “God” is merely a linguistic symbol for that which is beyond our comprehension. So the question before us on the Feast of the Incarnation is what became incarnate in Jesus?

December 24, 2019 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

Eternal God, in the stillness of this night you sent your almighty Word to pierce the world’s darkness with the light of salvation: give to the earth the peace that we long for and fill our hearts with the joy of heaven through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

            We are Christmas people. Yes, I realize that all Christians celebrate Christmas, but it’s been said that Episcopalians are Christmas people. Through the season of Advent, I preached about the importance of the Incarnation in our Anglican tradition and tonight, the Feast of the Incarnation, is where we celebrate and glory in that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

December 15, 2019 - Advent 3A

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            This morning’s Collect is a fantastic one in our Prayer Book tradition, beginning “Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us.” That prayer is answered in the Incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth. The Incarnation is the foundational claim of our faith, that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God did come among us with the might of love in the flesh of Jesus. And this claim that God came among us is at the very heart of what and how we believe as Anglicans.

December 8, 2019 - Advent 2A

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            The Psalmist proclaims, “May all the earth be filled with the Lord’s glory.” That is our prayer, our hope, and our focus – that all the earth be filled with God’s glory. Last Sunday, I began a sermon series on the Incarnation – the central tenet of Christianity that the God of Israel, the God who created all things, the God who is being itself took on flesh and came to us in Jesus of Nazareth. This radical belief is at the heart of our Anglican tradition and influences how and what we believe.

December 1, 2019 - Advent 1A

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            What makes you, you? For the most part, every single one of us is identical. Two hands, two lungs, a central nervous system, dependence on food and water. One way of viewing us is that we’re all pretty much the same. And while there is a commonality among us, there is also a diversity that makes us unique. People are not interchangeable. I wouldn’t be okay if you exchanged my family for another one. So there is something that makes you, you.

December 25, 2018 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the One who is, and was, and is to come. Amen.

            Merry Christmas! The Christmas morning Eucharist is one of the holiest there is and the Christmas morning sermon is one that I always enjoy preparing. For one, I know that you all want to be here. No one gets dragged to the Christmas morning Eucharist, they get dragged to Midnight Mass. There is something special about gathering in the Lord’s name to celebrate the Eucharist on this the most foundational of days in our faith when we celebrate the glory and grandeur of the Incarnation. And the Gospel text that we have this morning from John is one of the richest in all of Scripture and theology. It’s always a treat to sit down with commentaries for a few hours and dig into these iconic verses. So indeed, it is a joy to be here with you all this morning.

December 24, 2018 - Christmas Eve

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.

            What a joy it is to be here with you on this holy night. There is something special about this night. Something beckons us out of our warm homes and pajamas and calls us through the darkened streets to make our way to gather with friends and strangers to recall the birth of Jesus. Maybe it’s a deep sense of faith that brings you here, perhaps it’s nostalgia, or it could be something in your soul that tells you that you might find here tonight that thing you’ve been searching for. Whatever it is, there is no denying the power of this night which fills us with wonder and stirs us to sing praises to God.

December 25, 2017 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Merry Christmas! What a joy it is to be with you all on this splendid morning on which we celebrate the Incarnation of the Lord. Sacred time calls for sacred rituals and it just wouldn’t be Christmas for some of us without coming to this beautiful church, singing hymns of praise on cause of our Messiah’s birth, hearing John’s rich nativity poem, and partaking of the Holy Eucharist. As much as I enjoy the Christmas traditions of home and family, of breakfasts and presents, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without taking the time to remember what this day is all about and worshiping accordingly. So it is my joy and honor to be spending this sacred day with each of you.

December 25, 2016 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Merry Christmas! It is a joy to be with you this most holy of mornings. As it often is, the Gospel text for Christmas morning, which this year also happens to be the Lord’s Day, is the prologue from the Gospel according to John. This is one of the best-known passages in all of Scripture and it really captures what we might call the most important claim of our faith – that the Word became flesh. Sure, the Cross was important, and so was the Resurrection, as was Jesus’ teaching, but none of that happens if the Word doesn’t become flesh first. So this morning, before us is the cornerstone of our Christian faith and life.

December 24, 2016 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Merry Christmas! On this most holy of nights we come together, way past bedtime for some of us, to sing songs, hear lessons, and partake in a holy meal. These hymns, lessons, and meal all point toward something rather odd though. We’ve grown so accustomed to the Christmas story that we forget how absolutely absurd it all is.

December 27, 2015 - Christmas 1C

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” During Christmastide, we celebrate the Incarnation, the coming of God to us in Jesus. Matthew and Luke give us nativity stories with Mary, Joseph, wise men, angels, and shepherds, but John gives us a cosmic nativity scene. And in doing so, the gospeller John connects Jesus to Moses and to John the Baptist. Our reading notes that Jesus “came to his own people.” Though there is a very transcendental nature to Jesus that is not confined by time or space, Jesus also lived in a very finite context. He was born in modern-day Palestine, spoke Aramaic, and grew up learning about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus was Jewish, and that fact not only influences our interpretation of him in Scripture, but also has important implications for us today.

December 25, 2015 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            A very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. It is a joy and privilege to spend Christmas morning with you all. Though you can probably still smell the incense in here that was used at last night’s service, there is a noticeable difference between our celebration of Christmas this morning and last night’s liturgy. There is also a rather significant variance between the two gospel texts that we read. Last night, we heard the story, as told by Luke, of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem for a census and Jesus being born in a manger; and we heard of angels announcing the birth to shepherds in a field. The image last night was of an infant who had nowhere to lay his head.

December 24, 2015 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

Merciful God, illumine this night with your celestial brightness as we gather in joy to sing your praises for your love made manifest in the Holy Child, Jesus. Amen.

            A very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. It is so wonderful to have you here. If you are at St. Luke’s regularly, it is a blessing to celebrate with you this most holy night. If you are returning home from college or living in another city, but grew up at St. Luke’s, it is a treat to have you back with us. If you haven’t been to St. Luke’s since Easter, it is great to see you again. If you don’t have a church that you would call your “spiritual home,” we are glad to have you with us this evening and hope to see you again. If you were dragged here by a family member, I’ll try to keep the sermon short, but nevertheless, we welcome you. If you’re not sure why you are here, we are thankful that God brought us together. Whoever you are and wherever you are in your faith journey – welcome and Merry Christmas.

December 28, 2014 - Christmas 1B

Lectionary Readings

Be with us, O Lord, for if you are with us, nothing else matters; and if you are not with us, nothing else matters. Amen.

            A happy fourth day of Christmas to you all, your four calling birds are on the way. Those of us in the liturgical churches are counter-cultural. Radio stations have stopped playing Christmas songs, many decorations have come down, and come tomorrow, it’s back to business as usual. But not in here. The decorations remain and we sing songs of the Savior’s birth. It’s a question of how you celebrate Christmas. And I don’t mean what you did on December 25. Christmas is the season in which we celebrate that the Lord is come, that earth has received her King. So how do you celebrate that transformational event? Is Christmas something that you delicately handle, wrap in tissue paper, and store in the attic for 11 months out of the year? Or is Christmas something else?

December 25, 2014 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            A very Merry Christmas to all of you. It is a joy to spend Christmas morning with you, singing songs of our Messiah’s birth and gathering around the altar to share a Christmas meal in which Christ is present. This morning, I’d like to briefly consider the idea of revelation, as both our readings from Hebrews and John seem to focus on that element of Christmas. Scholars often speak of Christmas in terms of the Incarnation- when God Almighty took on flesh and blood and came to earth in the fullness of God’s being.

December 24, 2014 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

May Almighty God, who sent his Son to take our nature upon him, bless you in this holy season, scatter the darkness of sin, and brighten your heart with the light of his holiness. Amen.

     My first word to you this most holy night is “welcome.” There is something special about Christmas Eve. By the time we are usually crawling into bed, the magic of this night beckons us to put on our Sunday best and come to sing glad hymns of the Messiah’s birth. And I am so incredibly thankful that each of you are here this evening. Welcome to all of you.

December 29, 2013 - Christmas 1A

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Merry Christmas! Christmastide is the celebration of the Incarnation. The day when we remember and celebrate that God, who created all that is, who is the source of all that is, was born of a woman on earth. Our reading from John is the definitive Biblical passage that addresses this concept. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Its beautiful poetic stanzas inspire a sense of awe and majesty. But this first chapter of John is also one of the densest in the Bible. What does it mean that the Word became flesh? What does it mean that the Word is God?