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Heavenly Peace

12-24-18 (Christmas Eve, Year C) Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20 Heavenly Peace: 200 Years of Silent Night                Tonight marks the 200 th anniversary of the first performance of the beloved Christmas hymn “Silent Night.”   In churches around the world this night, people will gather together to sing – in many churches, it will be much the same as we do each year, with candles in hand as we pass the Christ light to one another and prepare to carry it out into the world.   For many people, it’s the defining moment that makes Christmas truly Christmas.   Of all the Christmas carols and hymns that have been written, Silent Night has managed to become such a permanent fixture in our Christmas experience that it has even been designated by UNESCO as a treasured item of Intangible Cultural Heritage.                There are many reasons why I think this hymn has endured for 200 years – the words carry a beautiful kind of poetry that paints a clear picture of Christmas Eve in al
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Marley the Baptist

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12-16-18 (Advent 3C) Zephaniah 3:14-20; Luke 3:7-18 Marley the Baptist             In December of 1843, Charles Dickens released A Christmas Carol in Prose: A Ghost Story of Christmas , which would go on to become the most successful and popular of all the stories he had ever written.  The classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his spectral visitors enthralled his audiences in the 19 th century and has endured over the years to the point that it has become enshrined in the halls of Christmas Traditions for many people.   Whether it’s sitting down together to read the story as a family during the Christmas season, going together to see it performed on the stage, or sitting down together to watch one of the many film or television adaptations out there with “Scrooges” ranging from Bill Murray to Sir Patrick Stewart to Mr. Magoo (my favorite, if you hadn’t guessed, is the Muppet version), the chances are that somewhere in your experiences of the Christmas season, this “Ghost of
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A Father's Joy

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12-9-18 (Advent 2C) Luke 1:68-79; Luke 3:1-6 A Father’s Joy                There’s something that is immensely fascinating about watching someone find out they’re going to have children.   From reveal videos posted on Facebook and YouTube to prize-winning clips submitted to America’s Funniest Home Videos, we’ve enjoyed seeing that moment unfold as future parents, grandparents, or little siblings open that package with the surprise inside.   We chuckle as they look at the camera, dumbfounded, asking “are you serious?!” or start jumping up and down and running all over the house screaming.              If they’d had such things as cameras back in Zechariah’s day, though, I think the moment he realized he was going to be a father probably would have taken a prize.   The elderly priest shuffles into the temple to take his shift in burning incense and leading the people in worship – just another day in the ministry, he thinks.   He picks up the censer and begins to fil
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The Days are Surely Coming

12-2-18 (Advent 1C) Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 21:25-36 The Days are Surely Coming As we come into the season of Advent, we enter into a time in the life of the church that is unlike any other.  It’s a time of excitement, a time of anticipation, of waiting and preparation.  It’s a time where we look forward with joy because we know that now, there are only four weeks until Christmas.  And everywhere we turn during the next several weeks, there’ll be no way of escaping that sense of eager Yuletide expectancy.  Christmas music has appeared on many of our radio stations, the Salmons light display is up at the fairgrounds again, and stores are trying to maintain the Black Friday surge as long as they can with Christmas sales and specials to help out those people who still haven’t found all the gifts they’ve been looking for.  People are putting lights out on their trees and houses, plugging in the inflatable decorations, and setting up other illuminated displays of holiday cheer while
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Christ the King

11-25-18 (Proper 29/Ordinary 34 B Semi-Continuous) Revelation 1:4-8; John 18:33-37 Christ the King The year is 1925.  The “War to End All Wars” has been over for seven years, but the world is far from feeling truly peaceful.  Strong dictatorships were beginning to rise in Europe: Mussolini was establishing a police state in Italy and Hitler was gaining popularity after his release from prison in Germany.  Nationalist ideas were taking root and finding expression around the world - both Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding espoused an “America First” policy that promoted a form of neutrality, both during and after World War I, and the Nazi Party continues to gain momentum in Germany with its disdain for leftist German politics, Jews, and a strongly developing white-supremacist rhetoric made even more prominent by the publication of Hitler’s “ Mein Kampf.” At the same time, the ideas of secularism continue to grow - with rapidly advancing developments in philosophy and t
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Giving Everything

11-11-18 (Proper 27/Ordinary 32 B, Semi-Continuous) Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17; Mark 12:38-44 Giving Everything It’s not all that often that November 11th tends to fall on a Sunday, let alone that we are given the opportunity to recognize the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that brought the first World War to an end.  Today at 11:11, bells across the country will be rung 21 times in commemoration of this centennial event - both to honor those veterans who are still in our midst, and in memory of those who have already given that “last full measure of devotion” in service to their country and gone on before us. It’s interesting to think of these events today, particularly as we listen to the readings from this Sunday’s lectionary.  While neither Ruth nor the widow that Jesus points out were great military leaders or soldiers serving on the battlefields, and couldn’t have served in their nation’s military even had they wanted to in their time, they still exhi
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Love Your Neighbor

11-4-18 (Proper 26/Ordinary 31 B, Semi-Continuous) Ruth 1:1-18; Mark 12:28-34 Love Your Neighbor Suppose someone came up to you and asked you: “Which of the amendments to the US Constitution is the most important?”  What would your answer be?  Of the 27 different amendments that have been made to our nation’s founding document, which one would you say is the most essential?  It’s a tough question, and the answers could vary wildly from person to person.  As a pastor and as someone with kind of a big mouth, I’m quite partial to the 1st amendment, myself.  For others, it’s the 2nd amendment that takes the top spot, particularly as the debate over gun safety continues to be at the forefront.  If you were to ask members of the black community this question, you might hear more about the 13th amendment and the abolishment of slavery, or the 15th amendment and the right to vote.  Many women in this country might list the 19th amendment and the Women’s Suffrage movement as being t
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