Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 The theologian Frederick Buechner wrote that the Gospel is bad news before it is good news, and I wonder if the Holy Family would say amen to that. The good news of Jesus probably felt like bad news at first. The young woman is unmarried, and I doubt many people believed herContinue reading “The Good News”
Category Archives: christmas
Unexpect It.
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 A key idea for this sermon came from Under the Whispering Door, a novel by TJ Klune. For four weeks we are called to wrap ourselves in expectation, anticipating the coming of an infant who is our God and Savior. We talk about expectant joy, preparing the way, clearing a path forContinue reading “Unexpect It.”
Where to Find Him
Luke 2:41-52 You’ll find that this sermon is a bit more casual (and shorter) than a typical Sunday sermon from me. This sermon was given to the people of Grace Massies Mill and St Mark’s Clifford via combined Zoom worship after some positive Covid-19 cases in our community led us to suspend in-person worship. ThanksContinue reading “Where to Find Him”
Who He Is
John 1:1-18 Merry Christmas! This new season begins with our Christmas Eve vigil, as we usher the light into the world by repeating the sacred story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem. And Christmas ends with the arrival of the Wise Ones from afar, with their gifts for the Prince of Peace and their recognition ofContinue reading “Who He Is”
An invitation to Ponder
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 This sermon was given at St Mark’s Episcopal Church in Clifford, VA on Christmas morning in a short spoken service of Holy Eucharist. For many of us, and indeed for much of the Western world, the religious crescendo of Christmas takes place on December 24th, Christmas Eve. Millions of people flood intoContinue reading “An invitation to Ponder”
God with Us
Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20 An angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. They were terrified. Why were they terrified? We have all gathered in this place, some of us from very far away, others for the first time, and still others are returningContinue reading “God with Us”
Let it be so now
Mark 1:4-11 I am beginning to wonder if the Holy Spirit is trying to tell me something about John the Baptist, because since the beginning of Advent he’s shown up in four of my sermon texts! This is the day that the Church remembers the Baptism of our Lord in the Jordan River, and ofContinue reading “Let it be so now”
Christmas Consolations
Jeremiah 31:7-14 Merry Christmas! It is still Christmas, as my family is tired of hearing me remind at every opportunity. The year of our Lord 2020 has come to an end, and many of us watched the clock strike midnight to begin 2021. Like the pandemic, the masks, the losses, the joys, and the changesContinue reading “Christmas Consolations”
The Empty Stable
Luke 2:1-14(15-20) I have an image in my head, of an empty nativity scene. A vacant stable, closed in on three sides by knotted wood and straw and hints of animals nearby. The figures that belong there, the blue robed Mary and the staff-leaning Joseph and the tiny swaddled infant Jesus nestled snugly in theContinue reading “The Empty Stable”
Mother A Writes 