The argument that Paul is making throughout most of First Corinthians is about a conflict between knowledge and love. We often hear about and think about a conflict between faith and science. Or between religion and science. But Paul is talking about a struggle in the community between knowledge and love... when he puts knowledge in contrast with love is how a basic religious fact or truth can be used as a club to bully and beat other people.

God in flesh made manifest. Somehow in those early days in Galilee, people grew enthusiastic about Jesus. They knew, somehow, that whatever he was up to, it was indeed good news for their lives, and that in Jesus– God in flesh made manifest– their own lives could be transformed and renewed.

What the beginning of Jesus’ ministry tells us, according to Mark, is that the boundary between heaven and earth is being opened. A portal is being opened. Actually, is being torn open. Because of the persistent, tenacious love of God for the human race. And that’s a potentially happy thought for us.

There is definitely a sense of wonder and magic in the Bible’s original presentation of the Christmas events. Even the name for these wise men, these so-called kings from the east– the Persian word magush became the Greek word magos, whose plural form is Magi. From which we get the word magic. So there is wonder and magic in the holiday season.

Our light has come. A light we have beheld with our own eyes. And a light that promises to be for all people. With that thought in mind, we can say goodbye to 2017. The good and the bad. We can depart in peace. Knowing that history and our lives are in the hands of this God who has come to us as a baby in Bethlehem.

God is normally in heaven, where things are good. And humankind is normally on earth, where things vary (at best). On Christmas, the drawbridge is down, the highway is open, between heaven and earth. Because God comes down to be with us.

Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name, and he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. And there is exactly one person who occurs both in the first chapter of Luke. And in the first chapter of Acts. Mary the mother of Jesus... Mary would be continuity and memory. All of these strange and wonderful things that happened when she was young would not come together until she was old, and widowed, and had watched her son die.

Elijah lived in a time of failed institutions. He was an outsider. In a time when the political order and the religious order had both fallen into corruption and decay. Elijah lived in exile. He lived hand to mouth. And he was an opponent of corrupt kings and queens who tried to murder him. It is no wonder, then, that John– who lived in the wilderness– and who stood on the opposite side of the border, the east side of the Jordan beyond the reach of princes and law enforcement– John was seen as Elijah.

The judge– Christ– is all around us, 24 hours a day. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” Members of this church and others regularly speak to me about the difficulty of encounters with homeless people. The difficulty is that the homeless person is a judgment. A judgment on us, and on our society. Understanding THAT is the first step. We push them away, sometimes, because they smell bad, or because they lack good manners. But we really push them away because they make us uncomfortable. They remind us of the vast work of the kingdom of heaven. They remind us of this parable. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.”

Our treasure, our talent is this congregation. In some ways, we are surely tempted to bury this talent in the ground. To preserve what we have by receding behind walls. That is what is happening to many congregations. And not only congregations, but many social institutions... We at Dove of Peace are not doing that. Every day we sweep the steps, we raise the flag, we turn on the lights, and we open the doors. And we invite all to come. Come and find hope. Come and find connection. Come and taste that the Lord is good.