This is odd, isn’t it? The last Sunday of Advent, yet there is a whole week until Christmas. May this extra time allow us a little breathing space to listen to Isaiah and to Matthew before we rush off to the exuberance and extravagance of Christmas. Isaiah issues an invitation
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Joy Sunday says it all. The third Sunday of Advent is marked by the pink- or rose-colored candle in the wreath in many traditions. It is the one where we are reminded of the news that shall be a great joy to all people—the news that Emmanuel is born, God
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It is the second Sunday of Advent, and we’re making a declaration. Whether we are heeding the call of John the Baptist to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” or longing for the peaceable kingdom of Isaiah, we are taking our stand for the promise that Jesus offers for beloved community,
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Our introduction to the message this week refers to this illustration “Genealogy of Christ” by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman, which was inspired by Matthew 1:1-17. The women mentioned in the genealogy are imaged as foundational leaves building and upholding Christ. All of the women are looking at the viewer and
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“What does it mean to speak of the Christ who reigns, or Christ the king?” What is clear from the gospel accounts is that Jesus came to redefine what it means to be king. The one who reigns over us is the one who was tried as a criminal, who
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What are you distracted by? That’s a question underlying our text this week. What is it that draws your attention away from your call to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? Not that followers of Jesus aren’t allowed to enjoy the beauty and wonder that
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The gospel writers love these stories—stories where Jesus gets the better of those who seek to outsmart him appear in all the gospels. But a key to the stories is that Jesus always engages. He could have simply dismissed the questioners, the scoffers, and sarcastic accusers, but he doesn’t. He
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What would it be like to encounter Jesus face to face? That’s the question this series sets out to help us answer. We can’t know, of course, but we can get a glimpse of what happened to those who did meet Jesus in the Gospel texts. It requires a holy imagination
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This week, we’re about giving our all. About living full out, about being alive the way Jesus describes living. “I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NRSV). This is what the life of faith offers; this is the example that Paul presents with his
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This week is about distractions. Well, not about distractions so much as about loss of focus, or maybe even loss of trust in the foundations of the faith. Once again, we are called to celebrate our faith and to embrace ways of living out that faith that might grow and
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