The Word Became Flesh (Gen 1:1–2:4a) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life…

The Proclamation of John the Baptist (Mt 3:1–12; Lk 3:1–20; Jn 1:19–28) 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:…

The Thrill of Hope leads us to take the first step into the Advent season. Hope keeps us awake, hope is what we trust in, hope that God will show up and set things right. There is a deep longing in all of us that God would hear our cries and know our sorrow and come quickly to our aid.

Christ's reign has begun. Outside of time, beyond past, present, and future, Christ sits on the throne and all things are being restored in Christ. Our role is to bear witness to it, to see Christ in the people we meet, and to serve with love as people who know the shepherd's voice.

Who will we be as we await the coming of the master? Will we throw in our talents with one another or will we succumb to the worry that we are not enough? The Christian community is called to lean into the work together, to contribute what they can, and to work for God's justice until the Kingdom comes.

In covenanting with God, we find a reorientation to the way of justice in the world. We prepare ourselves for this consummation by getting the oil, resting, and remaining watchful of the signs of the times.

Sure, the coin has Caesar’s head on it. Pay your taxes. Vote. Be a good citizen. And…do it all not because it is the obligation Caesar has burdened you with. Do it with a worldview that entrusts every action, every gift, every movement of your life to be a part of a whole picture of how God calls you and I to live.

We wrestle with this difficult text in order to find a meaning for ourselves and a calling to share the good news with others. You and me, we are invited...and that invitation is to be received in obedience and then shared so others can join in too.

While the religious leaders look to logic and philosophical musings to stump Jesus, we see that the way of God is unfairly bent toward blessing those who act upon God's instructions. It's not fair that our questions don't always get answers. And its unfair that God's grace is given to even those who had once turned their backs on God. This is the beautiful unfairness of the Gospel.

The parables and prophets of the Scriptures agitate our privileged vantage point, disrupting how we believe God's grace is "supposed to work" to illuminate the radical way of welcoming all, calling all to repentance, showing us all a belonging in the loving family of God.