Holy Trinity Ankeny

The magi come from afar to seek the Christ child. They come seeking and find King Herod more worried about maintaining his power than seeking the newborn king. Herod doesn’t seek, the scribes and chief priests don’t seek either. It seems that God is determined to be found and it takes those who shouldn’t even be looking for the Christ child to find him.   

Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ephesians 3:1-12 | Matthew 2:1-12

The vastness and immensity of the universe are held together and grounded in love. That love has come to us in Christ. Amidst the powers and rulers of this world, love has come in humility. Christ comes born in a manger, a baby crying as every other baby so we can know that love has come to us.

In today's Gospel, we delve into the Annunciation, a moment often overlooked in Protestant circles. Mary, a humble teenager from Nazareth, questions the angel Gabriel's surprising message. Yet, Gabriel points to God's unwavering faithfulness, echoing a history of divine promises fulfilled. 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 | Romans 16:25-27 | Luke 1:26-38

Worship features readings of the season and music by the Adult Choir and a small chamber ensemble.

The term “woke” has, for some reason, become polarizing. In this season of Advent, it is essential. To prepare for God’s salvation born in Christ, we must be “woke” to the brokenness of the word. We must be “woke” to the ways we participate in breaking the world. We must be “woke” to the fact that our attempts to fix the world are like lipstick on a pig – pointless. We cry out “Lord, tear open the heavens and come,” to call God to do new things in the broken places. We cry out, “Come, Emmanuel (God with us),” because it is our only hope.

The vision of the “Sheep and Goats” in Matthew’s gospel is a perplexing bit of scripture. On the surface, it reduces inclusion in the reign of God to those who do good works—no room for grace. On the surface, it condemns the unrighteous to eternal damnation and the fires of hell. Neither notion jibes with the story of Jesus very well. So, what is Jesus trying to teach in this last teaching of Matthew’s gospel?  It is about grace and mercy, of course.

We tend to create God in our own image. In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about what happens when we do not know who God is.  Jesus tells the parable of the talents to show the transformative impact of shaping our lives by embracing a God of boundless grace, joy, and abundance, rather than succumbing to fear and self-imposed limitations.  

The Church’s basic posture is one of anticipation, of waiting. Waiting for the Day of the Lord, the return of Christ. The consummation of the reign of God is a tricky thing. It is easy to become distracted by many things, to lose sight of the end and goal of life in Christ. Stay alert, stay awake, and center yourself on Christ.

In the Book of Revelation, we see a vision of the heavenly throne room with a myriad of worshippers dressed in white. A messenger asks, “Who are these people?” They are the saints. They are largely unknown because they worship one who is largely unknown. Who are the saints of God? It is a good and relevant question…

In a world where we constantly look back to the good ol’ days, we can become trapped by that nostalgia. It is easy to look back to our past, especially on Reformation Sunday, when we celebrate Martin Luther and the reformation he ignited, and get trapped with looking back. Christ calls us to be free and then sets us free to live and love and grieve in this world. Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36