That's What She Said

Praying to Awaken. Sometimes our eyes are wide open to notice the presence and power of God in this beloved world (and sometimes they’re not). There is a way of prayer that simply lets God know that we get it, and we appreciate it, and are wowed by it. And by praying our awakening, we become more and more attuned to the world, and thus have more content for these awakening prayers…it’s a virtuous cycle.

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What are you afraid of? Herod is “frightened” (2:3) of Jesus’s identity, and thus imagines violence as a solution, the elimination of Jesus’s presence from his world. But what God has ordained cannot be erased. Think of the attempts at “erasure” of LGBTQ+ folx – book-banning, prohibiting medical care, threats to roll back marriage equality, and more. These will not work; even if violence ensues, God’s purposes will not be thwarted.

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We see it again and again in scripture: those who greet God’s presence in the world with open-minded curiosity are rewarded for their inquiry. The astrologers from the east are not converted to Christianity; they return home with no expectation that their “homage” will become religious devotion. Thus they are integral to our understanding of Jesus’s identity as a cosmic savior beyond the bounds of Christian adherence.

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The birth of Jesus takes place in a framework that requires Joseph to rethink his status as a devout, law-keeping, religionist. From the beginning, in other words, Jesus’s arrival has pressed against religious convention, requiring us to be imaginative, humble, courageous, and open in order to be faithful.

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The prerequisite is hospitality. There is a posture toward neighbors that is tight-fisted and hard-hearted, everyone minding their own business…and then there’s the posture of open-door welcome. The latter is imperative for the receipt of the gospel, apparently. Where do we seek, find, and share that level of welcome?

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John and the question of Jesus’s identity: who will he be? John imagines the coming messiah as a fiery reformer, but it’s a dove (not a raptor) that lights on Jesus for God’s own designation. We’ll contemplate his baptism, and our own, and think about how baptism changes people into the people God knows them to be.

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The women in the genealogy: Jesus is made of them. Katie’s signature sermon about the scandalous women among Jesus’s ancestors, and how it informs our understanding of his identity to know who they are.

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Bruised reeds, smoldering wicks. The prophets foretold the coming of God’s agent into the world to reveal God’s plan for humanity – and God, who could have sent an avenging army, or a demolition crew, sent instead a quiet and even secretive emissary. What does it say about our own imperative to be heard and seen, that Jesus smallened himself to match the prophecy of Isaiah’s quiet servant?

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The question about salvation: who’s in, who’s out. What is the scope of Jesus’s salvific work? What commitments are required from anyone who wants “in”? What about the thief who doesn’t ask Jesus for anything, but only ridicules him? How do I know for sure that I’m saved?

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: [email protected]. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.

The question about the end of the world as we know it. What is the destiny of planet earth? When will *it* happen, whatever *it* is? How are we meant to live with the uncertainty?

To tell us your thoughts on this sermon, click through to the web posting and leave us a comment. Or, find us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or, email us the old-fashioned way: [email protected]. To contribute financially to the ongoing ministry of Galileo Church, find us on Venmo, Patreon, or PayPal, or just send a check to 6563 Teague Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76140.