The heart of the Sermon on the Mount teaches us to bring the law alive in our community. Sometimes it seems easier to follow the letter of the law instead of the intent of the law, but keeping every bit of

Paul told the Corinthians, "God has made foolish the wisdom of the world." In the Beatitudes we begin to see an alternative world-view form, not in asking us to take on the various states, but in offering consolation to those who find themselves that way. These alternative blessings help us keep hope, that the priorities of God's Kingdom will not always be last.

Don't worry if the same person baptized you and your neighbor, "Be united." Says Paul, using the root word for mending nets. Unity is not uniformity, but a coming together that transcends the diversity of differing gifts in the one body of Christ. The cross of Christ was God's way of upending our ways of defining and valuing ourselves and one another. Diversity is expected in the wonderful world God has given us and certainly in the church. At the same time, the cross upends even the distinctions we celebrate when we are all one in Christ.

New names indicate new realities. Throughout the Bible, God enters a life and changes it forever, many times signified by a new name. In baptism, we too are named. It can be daunting to realize we have a new reality after baptism. We are declared to be children of God and are brought into the direct family line as siblings of Christ. Everyone has deep hopes for fulfillment of life and salvation, and Jesus' answer to them all is, "I am. I am the bread of life. I am the living water. I am the light of the world. In me you will find life, truth and the way." Let us be filled and fulfill the names given us by God. How will you live the name Christian? What will others see in those named Arlington Church of the Brethren?

Today’s part of Isaiah is written to a very dispirited people. These words from scripture speak of light in thick darkness where the Lord’s glory arises and spreads. In our own time of empire, we must reorient and prepare for the future God is bringing. When we embrace and reflect the light, others will be attracted to the light they see in us. Christ’s church is still an instrument to bring God’s presence and glory to a world shrouded in the darkness.

When Mary and Joseph end up in Egypt, the wonder of a miraculous birth gives way to the brutal realities into which their baby is born. If we don't talk about tragedy and loss at church, we cheat ourselves of the help and hope our faith offers to get us through these days. The truth of the Christmas story teaches us how to carry broken hearts and hold life together. It's God's message of love found in Jesus that offers us hope for every day. The Christmas story doesn't take away the possibility of a broken heart, it takes it on. God's love redeems, lifts us up and carries us all the days of life. Joy to the world, God is with us.

Angles in the sky are a key part of the Christmas story. In one of this week's scriptures, an angel speaks to Joseph in a dream. Following Jesus takes us to some mysterious and unlikely places where God's realm is becoming manifest in ways as unlikely as Joseph's circumstances. God's realm is a place of new life where everyday angels care for God's creation.

When the way seems barren, remember that God excels at making a way out of no way. Farmers have long known our life and destiny are tied to the health of the soil, but much of that wisdom has been lost. Soil is the source of life in Genesis and is full of life, billions of microorganisms in each gram. Do you experience joy with your hands in the dirt or feet in the sand? We are powerfully connected to the Earth. At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, a child of God and our renewal of hope born on Earth.

John the Baptist reminds us that we have both a responsibility and role to play. We must not seek only the peaceful calm, but also the peace that comes with justice. Seeking justice is noisy and dangerous and the water we encounter might be water cannons trying to wash us away. Let us bravely ride the waves as we head to the margins with John the Baptist to speak truth to power and stand on the side of justice for God's people and God's earth.

This is the season we remember God is with us. Where do you experience God? God is with us as we keep moving toward the hope we have in God's future by the choices we make today, made as we walk in God's holy light.