One, One, One

We are brothers and sisters in the singular body of Christ.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

What Are We Looking For?

The Gospel reading is John 1:29-42

Jesus wants us to look inside ourselves to identify and name the source of our souls deepest desires. Our culture provides all kinds of substitutes for this. But what will truly satisfy that deep longing in our soul?

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Jesus’ Baptism

The Gospel reading is Matthew 3:13-17

Why did Jesus need to be baptized, as He was without sin? “To fulfill all righeousness….” which had the import of alignment with God, one another, and the world. And all involved were part of that.

Instead of looking down on the crowd, Jesus threw away his innocence and separateness to take on the identity of struggling men and women, becoming in every way one of us. Christ became one with humanity so humanity might become one with God.

There are many signs of our reunification in our world, not withstanding all the fragmentation. In this we are living into the meaning of Jesus’ Baptism, and our own. In Christ there is no separation.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Mindset of Christ Jesus

The Gospel reading is Luke 2:15-21

Jesus’s identity and mindset reflected and expressed his name, which means “God saves.” We, too are called to bear the name of Jesus! It’s the very meaning of our baptism, to embody in our own lives his compassion, love and humility.

We are called to have the same mindset to Christ Jesus? Do we? If we look at our world, what do we see?

His name is in us. We can claim it, and live our lives in His name.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Christmas Day 2022

The Gospel reading is John 1 1:18

Will the Child wrapped in swaddling clothes, in the inner room of Christmas, be you?

A Christmas Blessing:

The light of the Christmas Star to you

The song of the heavenly host to you

The awe in Shepherd’s eyes to you

The trust of the Virgin Mother to you

The love of the newborn Christ to you

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Christmas Eve 2022

The Gospel reading is Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Christ is born today. “Is” not “was.” Today, this very day. We must live out this eternal message in our time, in our place, in our souls, in our flesh.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Not One and Done

The Gospel reading is Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew regarded Jesus as a new Moses, a new lawgiver, with a new law to be written on our hearts. Joseph found that to fulfill the law he had to go beyond it, to go beyond ordinary waking consciousness to the direct personal experience of Divine intentions and activity. Tradition told Joseph to divorce Mary, but Spirit told him to take her into his home as part of a deeper Divine plan.

We too are being called to perceive the Divine dimension of what is happening in our own time and place, and to unite with the Living Truth. If we do this, if we live a policy of Love, the world will be utterly changed. At the same time, God yearns to be in intimate communion with human beings.

The advent challenge is for us to follow Christ in becoming individually and together Emmanuel in our broken world. We can offer ourselves to be little Emmanuels in practical ways in our world. This is what Joseph was doing when he put aside the law that said for him to divorce Mary, and instead listened to God.

Christmas is not meant to be “one and done.” We can offer ourselves to be Emmanuel to and for one another.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

What Are We Looking For?

The Gospel reading is Matthew 11:2-11

John questioned whether Jesus was actually the longed for Messiah, because Jesus was not about conquest and domination. Perhaps Jesus felt what John really needed was not an answer, but a transformation of his expectations of Jesus and the nature of the Kingdom of God.

For John, the crowd, and for us, the big question is “what is the deepest yearning of your soul?”

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Changing the Way We Think and Act

The Gospel reading is Matthew 3:1-12

The heart of John the Baptist’s message of repentance is not a threat, but an invitation to enter the Kingdom of Heaven which is here, right now. But only the repentant will see it and reach for it.

We have the opportunity to turn to God, and change the way we think and act. This requires self-reflection and self-awareness, and truthful examination of our own inner life.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Staying Awake to the Invitation of God

The Gospel reading is Matthew 24:36-44

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the season when we prepare for the coming of Christ—his birth and also the second coming of Christ.

Interpretations of the second coming of Christ are all over the board. Today’s sermon focuses on interpreting today’s Gospel reading.

What is the difference between those who are taken and those who are left behind? Inner vigilance and awareness make the difference.

The coming of Christ can be viewed as God’s invitation into the fullness of human life through Christ, and to that we can be alert amid the bustle and forgetfulness of our daily life. The Lord always is present; we need to be awake to the Christ who always is among us and within us.

The rush of the Christmas season works against the message of the season. The awareness of Spirt brings pleasure, passion and purpose.

How are we to keep aware amid daily activity? We may have the desire but lack the know how. This is where spiritual practices such as daily prayer and meditation, and partaking of spiritual material, are invaluable.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.