Christmas in the Dark

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”     Usually on Christmas Eve preachers don’t pay a lot of attention to the first two readings of...

Jesus’ Birth Announcement

    This third Sunday of Advent we light the pink candle on our wreath to symbolize the joy expressed by Mary when she learns she will bear a son who will be the Savior of the world.     Mary bursts into song at this unexpected news, the...

Preparing the Way

    What do you still need to do to be prepared for Christmas?     Do you still have gifts to buy? Decorating to do? Cards to mail? Baking and cooking? Wrapping?     There is so much to do between now and December 25. I...

Giving Thanks in 2020

    The calendar says today is November 22, but the liturgical calendar says this is the last Sunday after Pentecost, which means it is the last Sunday of the Church year.     The regular calendar says we still have almost six weeks left in 2020, but in...

Light in the Darkness

I was about 10 years old when psychic Jean Dixon predicted the exact date of the end of the world. Somehow in those days before the internet and social media the news of this impending doom raced through our fifth grade classroom, both exciting and terrifying us. ...

Who Will We Serve?

    “Choose this day whom you will serve.”     It is a defining moment for the people of Israel. Slavery is behind them, the long years in the wilderness are over, they have at last arrived in that land that God promised to their ancestors...

Keeping the Memory Alive

    Today is All Saints’ Day, one of the major feast days of the Church, and one of my favorite Sundays of the year. This first day in November is the time that we remember the saints of the church – all of them, those who are important and have their own day on the...

Love God, Vote

    Today’s gospel reading is one of a string of stories in Matthew where the religious authorities are questioning Jesus, trying to trap him into saying something wrong or heretical.     Today it’s the turn of a religious leader who is also...

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