St. Paul's Cary

The Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista considers the prophet Jonah: "We are, by nature, picky about our heroes. We tend to have a selective memory of their ascendance and acceptance... It's much harder for us to imagine what it might look like not simply to acknowledge the prophets who look the part but to hear the people who don't quite make the cut."

The Rev. George Adamik reflects on 1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20), the role of prophets, and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Often, people use 'prophet' for someone who tells the future..., but I don't see it in that way. A prophet is not someone who tells the future but someone who tells the present... and tells the present in a way that we often don't want to hear or see. A prophet is calling a community to a new vision, inviting us into a new future."

The Rev. Carr Holland discusses Mark 1:4-11 on the first Sunday after the Epiphany: "These gentle comings of God are what we weave our life of faith on. God comes in our care, Jesus shows up in the ways we listen and hear, the hands we hold, the meals we prepare and give away..."

On Christmas morning, the Rev. Tony Wike considers Luke 2:1-14: "We're aware that neither the world nor this nation is really at peace but is deeply divided. We're aware that many of God's children still long for justice and righteousness, and so we ask 'Where is the change? Where is the peace? Where is the hope?'"

On Christmas Eve, the Rev. George Adamik offers a different way of understanding the Incarnation: "God's Incarnation wasn't to somehow fix things; it was always the Creator's intention to send the Christ into our midst."

At the family-friendly service on Christmas Eve, the Rev. Carr Holland offers a message for children (and adults) about God's love.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista reflects on the Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38): "The way may not open for you and I by way of a burning bush or a pillar of cloud and fire. It may be that your call, much like Mary's call, will come in the ordinary events of life."

The Rev. Carr Holland considers Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 and John 1:6-8,19-28: "It is so easy when you are sifting rubble or old bones to forget that sometimes there is a hope, a dream of good that's waiting to be found there."

The Rev. George Adamik reflects on Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8: "Advent is our life. It's not just a season. It's a call to us to remember that we're a watchful people, ever vigilant."

The Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista contemplates the beginning of Advent: "The early Christian community had a tradition of observing the Lord's day on Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection, instead of the last day of the week, the Sabbath. They used to call this the eighth day. The cycle of 7 days of creation, broken as it is, redeemed as the inbreaking of a new day shines forth every time we gather together. The eighth day of creation, when things will be made new."