The Table UMC

Matthew 3:13-3:17 (CEB)

Excerpts from Karri Alldredge’s commentary for this text on Working Preacher points out:

”While the five short verses of the gospel reading focus attention on Jesus’ baptism, it is important to honor the many people who made it possible for Jesus to arrive at this point. For Jesus would not have made it to adulthood, much less his baptism, without individuals and communities attuned to listening to God and protecting the vulnerable…

…Today’s gospel narrative invites us to reflect on the communal nature of Jesus’ baptism along with our own. It calls us to reflect on communities who have nurtured our faith journeys and the ways we are called to support others as the body of Christ.

Matthew’s gospel opens with a genealogy. This genealogy roots Jesus in the story of the people of Israel from the beginning, unlike Luke, whose genealogy follows Jesus’ baptism. Matthew’s account provides Jesus with a lineage traced through Abraham and David. Ultimately, this affirms Jesus’ role as the Messiah.

But the genealogy does more than merely trace lineage; it serves as a reminder of the stories and experiences that shape a culture, a faith, and a people. It provides reminders of stories of resilience, like Ruth’s, and those of violence, like Tamar’s. It also memorializes collective experiences such as the Babylonian deportation. It reminds readers of the stories we know much about, like Abraham’s, and little about, like Achim’s. These generations, complete with historical anomalies, remind Jesus that as he enters the Jordan River, he does so guided by the faith of ancestors who came before him…

…As witnessed by those who supported Jesus, this is not only a spiritual practice, but a political one as well. As we recount Jesus’ baptism, it is a time to honor the many people who aided in getting him to the Jordan River that day despite the threat of imperial violence and the power of cultural norms. May it invite us in a time when children are being violently separated from their parents over immigration, and when transgender youth are being denied access to gender-affirming care, to consider the role of the church and community to protect the vulnerable and support them in living into who God has called them to be…”

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew 2:16-28 (NRSV)

Luke’s Gospel begins the story of Jesus with this opening line: “In the time of Herod…” This detail may seem minor to modern readers, however, it reveals layers of information about the fearful world Jesus entered, one filled with rampant oppression, economic disparity, uncertainty, and instability. A world not so unlike our own. And yet, throughout the stories of Christ’s birth, we hear the whispers of angels delivering a surprising message: “Do not fear.” In our own time, we might ask: is it even possible to be fearless in a fearful world? When Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi are each called into God’s redemptive story, they do not deny their fears—they move through them. They ask questions, hold fast to courage, trust in good news, and say, “Here I am, Lord.” When we find ourselves in fearful times, can we acknowledge our fears while also insisting on hope?

This Advent series that takes seriously the angels’ message and trusts that Christ’s birth truly is good news of great joy for all people. The series looks closely at the fear and terror looming in the background during the time of King Herod and invites us to consider the fears we hold now. Fear can divide and paralyze us, and even be used as a tool for oppression. But what if we formed a different relationship with fear? Can we acknowledge fear without letting it rule us? Might we catalyze our fears into love and action? What if naming our fears helps us see more clearly how God is breaking in and where God is at work? This series gently invites us to identify where fear is present—both in the Advent story and in our lives—while also finding our way toward hope, with the angels’ voices in our ears.

Every Advent, we light candles, sing carols, and pray for Christ’s coming because we believe God entered a frightened world to bring good news. We hold onto hope because we believe that Christ did come—that’s the promise of the season. Our hope is not flimsy or fleeting. It’s gritty, resilient, and can endure—no matter what we fear or face. This season, let us insist on hope and trust that good news is greater than fear.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 2:19-23 (NRSV)

As we celebrate Christmas this week, we are filled with joy with the birth of baby Jesus, the announcement of the angels, the whole creation bursting with hope. And we are also reminded that the Holy Family endured fear, rejection, uncertainty at this moment in their life. Things could have gone wrong, but God accompanied them in the journey to Bethlehem. But that fearful and perilous journey was just the beginning.

The Holy Family fears for their safety and for their child’s life, like so many refugees around the world. Their valid fears motivate them to move—and so they seek refuge in Egypt until it is safe for them to return home. Instead of trying to push fear away, they used it as fuel. What if we harnessed that incredible source of energy for good, fighting for a world where no one fears for their safety? Utilizing our fear wisely not only helps others; taking action also interrupts the fear that so easily paralyzes us. The work helps others, but the act of putting our fear to work changes us, too.

The Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee helps us to understand the complexity of that moment:

Christmas is not a conclusion—it is a beginning.

In Matthew’s Gospel, the good news of Jesus’ birth is immediately met with a violent response from the empire. Herod, threatened by the news of a new king, responds with fear turned lethal.

Once again, fear drives people into flight. Joseph, warned in a dream, takes Mary and Jesus and flees to Egypt. This is no small journey—it is a border-crossing, a dislocation, a story of becoming refugees in a foreign land. Matthew’s account intentionally echoes the story of Moses: a tyrant ordering babies to be killed, a child of promise narrowly escaping death, and God’s presence moving through exile toward liberation.

What do we do with fear in this story? We often imagine fear as something to overcome or silence. But here, fear becomes a catalyst for movement. The Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is born of fear— but it is also born of love, of protection, of resistance to unjust power. (Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee, Sanctified Art)

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Luke 2:13-20

Luke 2:7-20, (NRSV)

Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 41:5-10 (NRSV)

The theme for the fourth week of Advent is “When you’re afraid, give me your hand!” “Give me your hand” might be counter to how we usually respond to fear, but what if fear can result in connection instead of isolation? Joseph moves through his fears of rejection and shame in order to stand in solidarity with Mary, shielding her from harm. Their bond makes them each stronger. We don’t live out our callings in isolation— like the people of Israel in Isaiah’s time, our communal flourishing depends on each person stepping into their calling despite their fear. The Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee describes the power of community in this way:

Advent invites us not simply to “be not afraid,” but to act with love in the midst of fear. Not to fix everything, but to show up with courage. To reach out and say: “Give me your hand.” … God’s work in the world unfolds not through lone heroes, but through the joined hands of those who choose relationship over self-protection, accompaniment over certainty, and presence over perfection. Mary’s “yes” mattered. So did Joseph’s. So did Isaiah’s. So does ours. Today, and every day, we’re not asked to fix the world. We’re asked to take each other’s hands and walk forward into it—together. (Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee, Sanctified Art)

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Luke 1:26-39 (NRSV)

When the angel Gabriel breaks into Mary’s life, she responds with confusion, resistance, and fear – and with good reason! The text says that she is “greatly troubled!” And yet, Mary steps forward anyway, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” But notice, Mary’s yes is not immediate and not naïve, it is rooted in her vulnerability, trust, and even survival. The Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee describes Mary’s quandary (and perhaps our own) in this way:

Mary’s question “How can this be?” is not doubt—it is agency. It is a boundary drawn around her body, a claim to her own understanding before offering consent. Gabriel does not rebuke her. Instead, he offers a promise: divine initiative (“the Holy Spirit will come upon you”) and shelter (“you will be overshadowed”). These words carry no hint of coercion; they speak of protection, not domination. Still, her consent remains essential. Mary listens, considers the impossible, and then responds with courage: “Let it be with me according to your word.” (Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee, Sanctified Art)

Matthew 11:1-11, Isaiah 43:19-21(NRSV)

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

Luke 1:5-13, Lamentations 3:55-57 (NRSV)

“In the time of Herod …” places Jesus’ birth in a world shaped by political unrest, societal uncertainty, violence and fear. In this context, Luke introduces us to Elizabeth and Zechariah – an aging childless, priestly couple whose life is centered on a deep longing and faithful waiting. This intense longing and waiting creates a particular kind of fear. Although it invokes an “inner shaking, a disruption of body and spirit,” it is not a failure. Instead, it is a natural human response to a divine interruption.

Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804

IMAGO DEI—the centrality of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our Christ Tradition. While traditional depictions of God center on cisgender white male images, we will explore the multiple images of God that we see when we look into the mirror. We are all created in God’s image, so God’s image includes all of our reflections. We will focus on who we are as followers of Jesus and how we carry on his mission. We will revisit the story of the prophets Elijah and Elisha—not as a simple tale of succession, but one that considers positionality and a call to listen more deeply to voices on the margins. What might those most often overlooked be attuned to hear that those in the center have missed? This is the last in a four-week worship series on the centrality of DEI in our Christ tradition. We welcome guest Kara Tupy for today’s Message. Worship online with thetable.live. CCLI #805699 / CCLI Streaming #094804