Matthew 2:1-12 When I was a teenager, I was cast one year as one of the three wise men along with two of my classmates. We had all aged out of being sheep and shepherds and angels, and we weren’t quite old enough yet to play Mary or Joseph or the angel Gabriel, although byContinue reading “For All People”
Category Archives: christmas
A Beautiful Beginning
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 If I were to start off with “once upon a time…,” it would probably signal certain things to you about what comes next. A fairy tale, a myth, a legend. Not necessarily true in the literal sense, but meaningful and maybe even instructive. If I were to say “a long time agoContinue reading “A Beautiful Beginning”
Big Love, Small
Luke 2:1-14(15-20) We want a big God. We want a God who will stop wars and move mountains and slow the passage of time. When we feel small and afraid in the wide world, we want a God who is bigger than us to protect us and fight for us. When we encounter natural marvelsContinue reading “Big Love, Small”
Ringing
Matthew 11:28-30 This sermon was given on the occasion of Blue Christmas, also known as Longest Night, an observance intended to name and offer comfort for the pain and grief that the holidays bring for many. In the context in which this sermon was given, the congregation were given the opportunity to receive the layingContinue reading “Ringing”
Show Up
Luke 2:22-40 Today, the 40th day after surviving childbirth, Mary brings her infant firstborn to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and make an offering in thanksgiving for his birth and Mary’s safe delivery. Mary and Joseph are new, still figuring out the parenting thing and the marriage thing, but this is one thingContinue reading “Show Up”
It All Matters to God
Luke 2:41-52 I’ve always loved this story from Luke. This episode in Jerusalem is the only glimpse we get into what an adventure it must have been to raise God’s son. I’ve never been one for the poetic and artistic depictions of Jesus as a child who never cried, who was quiet and obedient andContinue reading “It All Matters to God”
Joseph’s Chosen Family
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 This morning, I’m thinking about Joseph. In a great reversal of the Biblical norm, Joseph is seen and not heard while his wife Mary gets all the great lines. Joseph does not speak a single line of dialogue in scripture. All we know about him from the Biblical witness is that heContinue reading “Joseph’s Chosen Family”
God Comes Close
Luke 2:1-14(15-20) God looked at the world, the world full of anger and jealousy, the world full of people hurting one another and failing one another and ignoring one another, and chose to come closer. God looked at the oppressed peoples living under violent regimes, looked at the earth he made to shelter us beingContinue reading “God Comes Close”
I Just Pray for Peace
I recently had the great privilege to hear in person a song that has carried me through some really hard times. The singer-songwriter Spencer LaJoye is a nonbinary Queer artist with a Masters in Divinity and an incredible gift for telling the beautiful truth. When introducing this song at their concert in Roanoke last week,Continue reading “I Just Pray for Peace”
The Perfect Fit
Isaiah 61:10-62:3 I had the great blessing of going home to Kentucky this week to see my family and celebrate Christmas with them. As so many of us have done over the last week, we exchanged and opened gifts together. We all received beautiful flannel shirts from our grandmother, and many of us were soContinue reading “The Perfect Fit”
Mother A Writes 