Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25

Joseph’s Story

December 22, 2013

Advent 4

            How can I begin to explain all the feelings – all the frustration – all the doubt — but then the great joy I had over the birth of the Messiah — the one you call Jesus? It’s very hard to find words to convey my feelings — but I must try — for my feelings of doubt — then faith — may give you more faith — and a deeper understanding of what the birth of Christ means to you.

            But first — let me introduce myself. My name is Joseph, and until all this happened I was a typical, poor carpenter in Nazareth. I was a devout Jew like my entire family, but there was nothing unusual about me at all. I began my carpentry business several years ago.  I was not the richest man in Nazareth — but I was not the poorest, either.  There was really nothing unusual about me at all.  I was just a typical Jewish carpenter. Much like many men my age, I was engaged to a girl younger than I — one named Mary.  I loved her.  She was the most loving, caring person I could ever wish for. It was time for me to start a family. My business was established and I could provide for a wife and children. 

            After the marriage contract was arranged between her father and myself, everything went as it should. The plans for the ceremony and the banquet fell into place and everything seemed to be going as planned, until it happened.

            Mary became pregnant. Unmarried — mind you — but pregnant. Engaged to be married to me — mind you — but pregnant. When her father heard Mary was pregnant, he became very upset — and righfully so. He first accused me of having a relationship with her, but I assured him that this was not so. But something had happened to Mary. What? Somehow she had become pregnant. How? Mary claimed that an angel had spoken to her — and that the angel told her the child would be the Messiah. But I was skeptical as was everyone else who heard her story.            

            What should I do — I wondered. What could I do? I was so very confused. The legal thing to do would be to break off the marriage. Legally, I could have her stoned as an adulteress. But then I also thought that maybe it would be better for all concerned if we went ahead and had the wedding early and Mary were to leave town until the baby was several years old — by then the baby would have appeared to have been mine. Or maybe I could have hurried and gone ahead and married her. Then the baby would also appear to be mine. But why go through the public humiliation for something you truly had no part in? I honestly did not know what to do.

Try as I might, I found it very hard to believe Mary’s story. This child she was carrying — it was not actually going to be the Messiah — was it? Or — was it? Could it be true? Could it be that God would come to such ordinary folk like Mary and myself in such an extraordinary way? It’s not that I didn’t want to believe that the Messiah would come — I knew God would send the Messiah to redeem Israel — but the Messiah coming through Mary and myself?  I was dubious — to say the least.

          I was truly at a loss as to what to do. I prayed about it every day — asking God to show me what to do. And then,  one night, my answer came in beautiful — glorious — marvelous way. As I was sleeping, an angel appeared to me and told me not to be afraid to take Mary as my wife.  The angel said:

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

            When I awakened, I was feeling a lot of things at the same time.  I was overjoyed, awed, even somewhat scared, all at the same time.  Even though it was still very hard for me to believe that God would come to me in such a special way, I know what I had to do. I took Mary to be my bride and we had the wedding as planned. Even though neither Mary nor I understood why God had singled us out to be the earthly parents of His Son , the Messiah, we accepted it as a matter of faith.  Even though I had many questions, as did Mary, I had faith in what God had told Mary and had now told me.

            Well, the months flew by .The wedding and feast took place. But soon it was time for the baby to be born. There is one other thing I had not planned on in this scheme of things.  The Roman Emperor called for a census. Everyone was commanded to go to the home of their ancestors to be enrolled.  My family was originally from Bethlehem, the city of David.  In fact, we were proud that the great King David was an ancestor of ours. But  Bethlehem was many miles away from Nazareth.  It would be a hard trip for anyone, but particularly for Mary!  A woman 9 months pregnant would be in no shape for such a trip,  but we had no choice.  And so, with faith that somehow God would watch over us, and particularly Mary, we made the long journey to Bethlehem. When we arrived, we were tired from such a long journey.  We had spent more than a week on the road — and it was obvious that Mary would deliver her baby very soon.  But Bethlehem was so crowded.  So many people were there for the census.  There was no place for Mary and myself to stay, much less a suitable place for our baby, possibly the Messiah, to be born.  Many people were staying on the streets, but Mary needed a place warmer than that.  I finally persuaded an innkeeper to let us stay in his stable. It was a cave where he kept his livestock.  We bedded down as best as we could amongst the animals. Both of us wondered exactly what would happen, but we still had faith in God and what He had promised us. 

            Sure enough, that night the child was born. The one the angel had told Mary and about was the Messiah. The baby was God with us, the one to take away our sins.  He was born — to us! Such a tiny baby! Mary and I wondered if this could truly be the Messiah. How could it be? It was all so confusing — and yet so marvelous and fantastic. I had never expected God to work in my life in such a powerful way. Suddenly my very ordinary life became very extraordinary, and it was never the same again.

            God had come! Salvation was at hand! God’s people were going to be saved by this child — my son — God’s Son — lying in the manger with all the animals around. This was the Messiah!

            I never pretended to understand or make sense of it all.  I was only sure of one thing:  God had touched my life, and I would never be the same again. 

            I know it is hard to understand the true meaning of Christmas.  It is so easy to get involved in Santa Claus and presents and all the other things that are used to celebrate Christmas.  In fact, I know that many times we miss the true meaning of Christmas. But this is what Christmas is all about: God came. God came to people like you and a person like me, in an extraordinary way.

As you celebrate Christmas, have fun and be joyful , but remember the meaning of it all.

            God has come into our lives and our world through Jesus Christ and our lives and our world will never be the same again. Amen.

Isaiah 35:1-0, Matthew 11:2-11

Isaiah 35:1-10

Matthew 11:2-11

Advent 3

December 15, 2013

“How Will They Know?”

            Advent is not an easy season for us. In Advent we are waiting and preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives and into our world – and waiting is not easy for us. We might find ourselves wanting to fast – forward through Advent and arrive at Christmas early – and maybe stay in the Christmas season a little longer.  Of course, part of the problem is that “the world” – society – many people – want to rush straight from Thanksgiving to Christmas and forget all about Advent.  Outside the Church and even inside we may feel the pull to rush to the birth of Christ and not look at the message of Advent. Another part of the problem is that it is a busy, rushed time for all of us. I am no exception to this. I try to slow down and focus on what is truly important – like we talked about last week — but that is not any easier for me than it is for you.

            Regardless of what the newspaper says about how many shopping days are left until Christmas – it is not Christmas yet. It is Advent. It’s a time to wait.  It’s a   time to reflect. It’s a time to wait while we reflect upon texts that help us remember what God’s will is for the world and why Christ came into the world.  We take the time to do this  so that when Christmas does come  and we do celebrate the birth of Christ we will know what it is we are celebrating and we can dedicate our lives to doing the work Christ cane to do and we are now are called to do.

Today’s  Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 35 is one of those beautiful visions of rivers and streams in the middle of deserts, the lame leaping, the blind seeing, and the people of Israel returning to their homeland from captivity in Babylon.  It’s a beautiful picture of God’s will for peace, healing, and wholeness becoming a reality.

Isaiah first spoke these words to the captive Israelites in Babylon, but when he first spoke these words, I am sure that many people did not believe him.  His words of streams in the desert, the lame leaping, the blind seeing and especially the captive Israelites returning to Jerusalem just did not match what they were experiencing. As they stood in Babylon and looked across the dry, barren desert towards Jerusalem – they did not see much to hope for.  It seemed fruitless to hope that God would do anything to change their situation. If God was going to do anything He would have done it before then.   It seemed fruitless to hope that anything would change. It had been too long. The Babylonians were too powerful. Nothing was going to change.

Face it – Isaiah – they may have thought — these words of yours are pretty, but pretty words don’t change things.

What would it take to convince them – Isaiah must have wondered.

How will they know?

How will they know that God will act and will do what needs to be done to accomplish His will and purpose in the world? 

That question of knowing and waiting is the bottom line to the question John the Baptist sends his messengers to ask Jesus in our Gospel passage from Matthew 11.  John – the strong witness to Jesus – is now in jail for confronting Herod about  his sinful lifestyle. As it seems to happen many times, God’s will had gone up against the powers of the world, and the powers of the world had seemed to get the upper hand.

If you have seen the movie The Apostle you probably remember the scene where the apostle, who had done so much good for so many and built a church up from nothing, is arrested.  They were having an evening service, full of the Spirit, worshipping and praising God, when the police cars came with their flashing red lights and took the apostle away.

That’s something like what had happened to John. And now – in prison – John may have been having some doubts about God’s will – so he sent messengers to Jesus to ask if He was the Messiah – or if another is coming. In other words – how can we know that you are the one? It looked like Herod was as powerful as ever. It looked like nothing was ever going to stop the power of the world as it went up against the will of God. But Jesus told the messengers to look around them and see what was going on – and then go tell John what they had seen.

Jesus told them to go back and tell John about how they had seen the blind regaining their sight – the deaf being able to hear again — the lame walking — the lepers being cleansed – and even be dead being raised.

In other words, if John wanted to know if I am the Messiah – Jesus seemed to be saying — go and tell Him the evidence, and let Him know that God’s Kingdom of healing and salvation has come!

During Advent we wait for the celebration of Jesus’ birth – while we reflect upon it’s meaning. Jesus came into the world to bring God’s will for healing – wholeness – justice and salvation into the world. But as we reflect upon this, we must remember that there are many people in the world who may be like the Israelites in captivity in Babylon, whose experiences did not match the vision Isaiah proclaimed.  There are many people in the world – and in our community — who – like John – may be wondering how they can know that Christ has come – because the hope – healing – love – and justice Jesus brought is still not a part of their experiences.

How will they know?

Let me tell you a story – and I hope that in this story you will discover how the people who need to know about the love, salvation, healing and wholeness Jesus offers them will come to know and experience these things.

The last few years Sally and I lived in Wentworth – outside of Reidsville – I was the part time Director of the Reidsville Outreach Center while also serving the Wentworth Presbyterian Church. The Reidsville Outreach Center was an organization much like CUOC is here in Sanford.  At one point our office and food warehouse were located  on a side street in Reidsville in a building with an apartment upstairs. The apartment, like all the places for rent on that street, was run down but rented cheaply, so families who needed cheap housing lived there and   many times they became not only  neighbors to the Reidsville Outreach Center but also families we helped.  One bitterly cold and rainy December day I sat at the table at the front of the Center helping check in clients for our food distribution when  a young girl, probably in her 20s but her very early 20’s, ran in and slammed the door.  I was startled to see her as she slammed the door dressed in a sleeveless T shirt and overalls on such a bitterly cold and wet day.  

“Aren’t  you cold”? I asked. “Well – me and my 3 kids just moved in the apartment upstairs a few days ago – and I just had to run down the steps – into the street – and in your door.” she replied.

I knew that I had not seen the other girl and child who had lived in the apartment upstairs for a few weeks. Now I knew they had moved out – and this girl had moved in.

“We don’t have any food” – she said.

“Ok – let me take your name and fill out a food card with your name and the number of people living with you that you need food for  and we can give you food today – but you’ll have to come in and fill out an application next week before we can give you more food.” She nodded and I began to fill out her card – then she said: “They told me y’all cared – but I wasn’t  sure. Now I know.”

Friends — Christ has brought healing – wholeness – justice – and salvation into the world – but how will they know?

How will people who are homeless know that Christ has come into the world to help them? How will people who are hungry know that Christ has come into the world to help them? How will people who are unemployed and feel that there is no use in trying any more know that Christ has come into the world to give them hope? How will people who are sick and dying and feel lonely and afraid know that Christ has come into the world to give them hope? How will the Hispanic man, woman, or child who  is struggling to not only get jobs but struggling just to learn how to speak a new language and learn a new culture know that Christ has come into the world to give them hope and salvation?   

How will they know?

The only way they will know is when they can see and experience Christ touching their lives. The only way they can know is when they can see the evidence, just as Jesus presented to John’s messengers.

Jesus told the messengers from John to see for themselves that the blind are seeing — the deaf are hearing — the lame are walking — the lepers are being cleansed – and the dead are being raised.  Friends – it is only when God’s people – the followers of Jesus – and that means us – take the message of Jesus’ coming into the world to bring salvation – healing – justice –  and peace to those who those who desperately need to experience these things  – not only in words but in actions – that they will they know.  

How will they know that Jesus has come – and their lives can be different? Only when we take seriously the mission of  God in our community and use the strength God gives us to be on that mission, reaching  them in God’s name and proclaiming God’s love and will to them.

The homeless will know that Christ has come into the world to help them when we quit criticizing them and begin helping them. People who are hungry will know that Christ has come into the world to help them when we begin helping them.  People who are unemployed and feel that there is no use in trying any more will know that Christ has come into the world to give them hope when we quit talking  about how lazy they are and start helping them see that God loves and believes in them – and so do we. People who are sick and dying and feel lonely and afraid will know that Christ has come into the world to give them hope when we begin showing them God’s love instead of walking away from them. Our Hispanic neighbors who are struggling to learn a new language and new customs will learn that Christ has come into the world for them when we show them the love of Christ in real and tangible ways. 

How will people who need to know that Christ has come – know that Christ has come?  When we act in ways that show them that Christ has come! Then they will know.  

In Advent we reflect on the fact that Christ came into the world to bring God’s will for love – peace – healing – justice – and salvation, and as we reflect upon these marvelous facts, let’s dedicate ourselves to being on God’s mission in our community and bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who need to experience it – so that those who need to know will know –

Christ has come. Lives can be changed. It is God’s will for their lives to be different. It  is God’s will for them to experience salvation and love – now and forever.

In our actions, they will know. Amen.    

Isaiah 11:1-10

Matthew 3:1-12

Get Ready – Now!

Advent 2

December 8, 2013

            I am sure that all of you – like me – are very busy this month!    Most, if not all, of us are very busy these days and are caught up in the preparations for Christmas. Maybe you are checking your shopping lists to make sure you did not leave anyone off, or checking your lists of “things to do” to make sure everything is on the list, or checking to see how much longer you have before you do some activity, or moving things from your “B list” of things that you can put off doing until later to your “A list” of things that need to be done immediately – if not sooner. Maybe you find yourself checking your schedule to make sure you know when you have to be where, or checking your watch to make sure you get where you need to be on time!

We are all busy – getting ready for all types of things and events. But – as I rush along with the rest of you – I have to wonder – are we getting ready for the right things?

Sure, for most of us many of the things we are getting ready for are important – but are there other things – really more important things — we need to be paying attention to also?

The Season of Advent that we are celebrating in the Church during December is a time of preparation, but it’s not intended to be so much of a time of preparation for parties and presents – but it’s a time for preparation for the coming of God. It’s a time for preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, and also preparing for the coming of God’s will for peace, justice, salvation, and love into our lives – our Church – our community – and our world. 

So – I wonder — as we rush together through this month of December – even as we are doing things that we deem to be important – are we overlooking the things which are truly important? As we get ourselves ready for our celebration of Christmas – are we also getting ready for Christ? Are we getting ready for God? Are we taking the time to look at our lives and look at how we are living as disciples for Christ?

During Advent we have an opportunity to look at how prepared we are for God’s coming into our world, and an opportunity to look at our commitment to Christ and our commitment to living in His ways. This opportunity to recommit ourselves to being the people of God in this Church – this community – and the world is not something for us to put off – it’s not something for us to put on our “B list” of things that can be done later or our “C list” of things that would be nice to do if we ever get a chance to do it – it is something that needs to be on our “A list” of things that need to done now – and not later. In the midst of all the other activities we find ourselves involved in, we have to find the time – or should I say we have to make the time – to reflect on our commitment to living in the ways of Christ. We have to get ready and live in Christ’s ways – and we have to do it now!

As I was growing up my Dad was an attorney, and particularly in my younger years as he was establishing his law practice in Rock Hill he worked long hours, so on many  Saturdays he would work at the office at least until noon.  Saturdays were a quiet time in his office with no clients to meet, no secretaries to oversee, no law partners to talk with – it was a chance for him to be alone with his files and books and work on his cases.  He loved those days where he could be more relaxed and focused.  Since Saturdays were more relaxed around the office, sometimes Dad would take me or one of my sisters with him and we would explore that great building that was Dad’s office while he worked. Well, one Friday night he told me that I could go to the office with him the next day if I was ready to go by 8:00. I was thrilled!  I was so excited I could barely sleep that night – and was up by 6:30.  After breakfast Dad went to get dressed – but I decided that I would watch TV for a few minutes – then get ready.  Now, you have to understand something about Dad – he was very loving, but he was firm.  If he said something he meant it – and if he said we were leaving and to be ready at a certain time, he meant it.  Well, 7:45 came and I was stil in my pajamas watching TV – so Dad called into the den “Bill – I’m leaving in 15 minutes”. I  knew that meant that I needed to get ready – but the TV show was so interesting that I didn’t want to quit watching.  Surely I had time to watch – then get ready.  Well, 5 minutes passed – and  I was still not dressed.  Dad called into the den “Bill – ten minutes – better get ready.” As excited as I was about going with Dad, I still did not want to leave the TV show – and continued to watch. 10 minutes was a long time, I reasoned – I could watch TV a few more minutes then get ready.  At 5 minutes until 8 Dad called one more time – “Bill I’m leaving in 5 minutes – get ready – now – or I’ll go without you!” For some reason that particular day I thought he would wait – and I continued watching TV.  The next thing I knew the back door slammed – and when I jumped up I saw Dad’s car pulling out of the driveway.  He had left me – and I was heartbroken – but whose fault was it? It was mine – because I didn’t get ready.  Dad had told me 3 times to get ready – I had not – and he left.

Get ready. Get ready – now!

That’s John the Baptist’s message in our Matthew 3 passage.

“Repent – for the Kingdom of heaven is near” John says.

In other words — Christ is in the world.

It’s time to live in His ways. 

Get ready – John says — and do it now. 

Don’t get so busy and so caught up in the things of the world that you overlook the most important thing – living in the ways of God. Don’t get so caught up in living your life that you forget about living in God’s ways. Don’t get so caught up in preparing for Christmas that you forget about Christ.

We all have some things to do before we can sit back and say “OK – I’m ready for Christmas!” — or at least I do!

I’m afraid we all also have some things to do before we can say “I’m ready for Christ!” 

 You know — when the Scribes and Pharisees came to hear John, they were probably pretty smug in living their lives as “religious people” and were doing a lot of “religious things” – but they did not have a personal relationship with God. But instead of congratulating them on being “religious people” and doing “religious things” John called them “brood of vipers”   and told them to produce fruits in keeping with repentance

They probably thought they could just live a “good life” and act real holy without actually repenting of their sins and following God, but John knew better than that. John knew that the time had come for them to quit acting and to start living. John knew that the time had come for them to quit playing like they were interested in God and start living like they were interested in God.  John knew that play time was over – it was time to work.

Quit playing like you are interested in God – and produce fruits in keeping with repentance, John said.

John knew it was time to get ready – it was time to live in God’s ways.

Get ready. Now.

That was John’s message then – and it’s God’s message to us – now. In the midst of all we are doing to get ready for Christmas, it’s time to make sure we are living in the ways of Christ and doing what He wants us to be doing in the Church, in the community, and in the world. It’s time to quit acting and start living. It’s time to quit playing like you are interested in God and start living like it. Play time is over – it’s time to get to work.

Time to produce fruits that are in keeping with repentance.

Time to get ready – and live in God’s ways.

Get ready. Now.

So – how do you get ready for God – and how do you “produce fruits that are in keeping with repentance”? 

Well, our passage points us to three of the fruits of repentance.
The first fruit of repentance our passage points us to is humility.

John says in verse 9:

“do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham”

In other words, we can’t be so proud of our family history that we think that alone can save us. The Pharisees and Sadducees were quick to point out their Jewish family history as a proof of their closeness to God. Some folks are that way even now. If you ask them if they’re a Christian they might respond: “Oh, my family are all Presbyterians” or “Sure, my parents were Baptists.” The thing is that your parents or your family cannot get salvation for you – you have to choose to repent of your own sins and follow Christ on your own.

The first fruit of repentance is humility. It’s humbly bowing before God and admitting that you cannot earn our way into heaven. The fruit of repentance is acknowledging your sins and asking for God to forgive you.

You need to get ready – now!

The second fruit of repentance is urgency.
John says in verse 10:

“The ax is already at the root of the trees”

Maybe you think that your sins are not all that bad.  Maybe you haven’t murdered anyone or gone on a shooting spree. Maybe you feel your sins are nothing major – you can get around to confessing them another day. But John is pointing out that we need to have a sense of urgency when it comes to living a life that bears the fruit of repentance. True, your sins may not be as “big” as someone else’s, but your sins still put you in a dangerous situation. You need to realize that you need God’s forgiveness in your life, no matter how great or small your sins might be, and you need to repent of your sins – whatever they are – now and not later. 

Get ready. Now.

The third fruit of repentance John tells us about is the fruit of change. John says in the second part of verse 10:

“every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”

You know – being saved by God and living the life God wants you to live is not about “religion,” but it’s about “relationship.” It’s about the personal relationship you can have with God through Jesus Christ. It’s about the fact that you can have a personal encounter with the most powerful being in the universe. You would think if you’ve had an encounter with the most powerful being in the universe that you would walk away changed – a different person. Sadly, though, folks often claim to know God and yet it does not change their lives. Too many good people think that they can be “Christian” without any evidence that their lives have been changed.  Friends – if you are going to bear the fruit of repentance, you are going to have to live the changed life of Christian discipleship. You are have to stop living like you want to and live like God wants you to live. The Bible knows nothing about a faith that does not lead to a changed life. If you are serious about being the person God wants you to be, you need to let God change your actions.

Friends – if you and I are going to be ready for Christmas – there are things we have to do.  To be ready for the coming of Christ into our lives and our world there are also some things we have to do. We have to repent of our sins – and bear the fruits of repentance – humility, urgency, and change.

We need to have these things in our lives now – and not later.

We need to get ready – now!

As we rush and get ready for Christmas, let’s also rush and get ready for Christ.

Rush and get your life in order before God.

Rush and bear the fruits of repentance – the fruit of humility before God — the fruit of realizing the urgency of your need to have your sins forgiven – and the fruit of letting Christ change your life.   

By having these fruits of repentance in your life you will be ready for the coming of God into your life and your world, and will be ready for Christ to come into your life – and through you change this Church, this community, and the world. 

Friends – don’t put it off!

Get ready – now! 

Amen.

Isaiah 2:1-5, Romans 13:11-14

Isaiah 2:1-5

Romans 13:11-14                     

It’s Time We Learned!

December 1, 2013

Advent 1

Communion Meditation

You know — the words of Isaiah in Isaiah 2 and of Paul in Romans 13 may not sound very “Christmassy” or “Advent -y” — but the truth about them is that they are words that point to the future reign of God.

            Both of these passages speak of the future. They speak of God’s future — our future. They speak of a future of peace — of love — of God’s will for justice — compassion — and wholeness. 

            They speak of a future that may seem as unrealistic as a child’s Christmas list.

            We might look at the Isaiah 2 passage — then look at the world around us and think:

peace?

love?

compassion?

wholeness?

            Surely you have got to be kidding. All we see around us is hustle and hassle —

death

poverty

hatred

destruction

            Not much room for

peace

love

justice

compassion

wholeness

            Not much room for the future of God — the will of God – the future that God promises.

            And yet — the words of Isaiah – and of Paul — strike a chord somewhere deep within each of us. 

            A future of peace — God’s peace.

The day will come — Isaiah promises — the day will come.

            Wouldn’t it be wonderful?

            A day of peace?

            A day of justice?

            A day of love?

            A day of comapassion?

            It would indeed be a wonderful day.

            In the busyness of our lives a moment of peace — just a moment  – is nice.  And yet Isaiah talks about a future full of it — and Paul says we can set aside the ways of the world and obtain it.

            You know — how we envision the future can affect our present.

            It can affect how we live — here — and now.

            The entire Christian faith revolves around the fact that God has come into our world — into our lives — through Jesus Christ — and we can celebrate that in how we live and in all we say and do.

            Through Jesus Christ — we can learn.

            Through Jesus Christ — we can learn the ways of God.

            Through Jesus Christ — we can learn — and live in — the ways of

peace

love

justice

compassion

wholeness

Friends — it’s time we learned — really learned — and really understood — what the coming of Christ means to us. It’s time we learned — really learned — that Christ can indeed come into our lives and can show us how to live in God’s ways.  It’s time we let Christ change our lives so we can truly live in God’s ways.

            In Christ — God with us — Emmanuel — the one we celebrate at Advent — Christmas — and throughout the year — we can learn to live in God’s ways.

            It’s time we learned!

            Christmas is about the coming of God into our world. Jesus — the baby in the manger — is more than just a baby in a manger.  Jesus is the one who has come to lead us in God’s ways.

As we begin this Advent season, you can sense an excitement and anticipation in the Church.  Not only is the Chrismon tree beautifully decorated — but we are beginning — and I believe joyously anticipating — a new future for this Church — a new future filled with God’s will. 

            In a few moments we will celebrate the Sacrament of Communion — celebrating that new life Christ brings to us. .

            Come to the Table.

Rededicate yourself to God.

Experience again the

peace

love

justice

compassion

wholeness

God offers you so you can share it with others.

Indeed –It’s time we learned! Amen