When was a time you were changed? Think about it – when in your life have you experienced something that transformed you? We can have many of these moments in life – falling in love, having a child, moving across the country, the death of a loved one. Whatever it may be, you can look at that moment and realize that you were not the same afterwards as you were before. Perhaps you’ve seen that transformation in others. Last year, I was blessed to see a small glimmer of transformation in a group of young people...

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book entitled “The Tipping Point,” he challenges the reader to make a list of the people whose death would truly leave them devastated. Let’s try it - count the number of people. Gladwell says that twelve people is the average. Those people you listed make up what psychologists call our “sympathy group.” A sympathy group is that circle of people with whom we can closely connect. Often this group includes one’s extended family or ethnicity, and they become the in-group; everyone else in the world, by default, become the out-group.[1] What do we do with this biological tendency to make in-groups and out-groups? ...

If I asked you to envision God, what would God look like to you? What picture comes into your mind when you think of God?

We are living in a somewhat new era in our country and in the world. I confess I am not warming up to its nationalistic bravado. In my opinion it is foolishness. I want Christian wisdom in dealing with it. Clout, wealth by bullying, and rattling sabers represents a philosophy of power that has once again overtaken Washington. We cannot avoid it, because we live in our nation which we love. I want to say something in Christ, from Christ, to you that is marked with some sort of wisdom.

If you’re at all like me, you may feel a little uncomfortable with today’s Gospel reading. These words that start what is perhaps Jesus’ most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, may be about as familiar as they are challenging. For many people, the list of beatitudes we heard a few minutes ago has become a list of ways to receive God’s blessings in our lives...

It’s been quite a week. Let’s begin with a quick check-in on where you are today. If you were to sum up how you felt last week in one word, what would it be? (Think about it; then, share with a neighbor.) Well, if you asked me the same question, I’d say annoyed. It seemed like everyone and everything annoyed me. Here at the church the front doors didn’t work, the copier broke, and Microsoft Word drove me absolutely bonkers with the Annual Report. And those are the most benign examples here at the church. I could give examples from my life on a personal level and political level as well. One thing after another was flat out annoying. ..

Earlier this month I went to The Field Museum’s exhibit on tattoos. I noticed that each tattoo was a bit different. Some were identifiers, like the tattooed numbers on Nazi prisoners. Others signified status within a tribe or group. Some were even a form of resistance. One type of tattoo even attempted to harness the powers of dead people or animals by mixing their ashes into the ink. As I walked through the exhibit, I began to notice is that tattoos were more than an image. Tattoos were often indicators or reminders that carried meaning. The tattoo was just the beginning of a story.

Quick poll: Who here likes surprises? Well, I suppose it depends on what kind of surprise, right? Receiving a gift you didn’t expect can be a pleasant surprise! Running into an ex- that you didn’t expect to see is often an awkward surprise. That advertisement that automatically begins playing on a webpage is simply an annoying surprise...

There’s a picture I haven’t been able to get out of my head for weeks now. My friend shared it on Facebook and its haunting image has been constantly on my mind. It shows a young couple – a man and a woman – walking through a desolate street. The man’s face is tired and shows a blank gaze as he balances his sleeping child in one arm and a medical IV drip in the other. The woman’s face is covered as the three hastily make their way down the street – their urgency is clear. In his post, my friend quoted today’s gospel text, “And so he arose, took the child and his mother by night, and fled into Egypt.” Because even though this was a picture taken just two weeks ago of a young family fleeing the advancing government forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo, it could just as easily be a picture from more than 2000 years ago of the Holy Family fleeing the advancing government forces in Bethlehem. Because my friend shared this picture just days before Christmas and because I knew that this was today’s appointed text, this is the image that has colored my celebrations this season...

“In the beginning was the Word.” But I wonder, do words still matter? After all, political candidates speak words that seem to produce no action or change. Advertisers make empty promises to consumers about what will make us happy or successful. Words are constantly created, including Oxford Dictionary’s recent addition of “moobs.” That’s right, “moobs” as in “prominent breasts on a man.” It seems that words have fallen on tough times; yet, today we gather to celebrate the Incarnation and remember the “Word.” What’s going on here?...