Dec. 25, 2016 Christmas Day

 John 1:1-18 (NRSV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Where in the world is God?  The day we stop asking this question is the day we are in trouble.  For we are  always discovering God; we never have God all figured out.  Faith is an adventure of discovery, with God revealed in the process.

The answer to our question is:  God is hidden in the most unexpected places, just as He was unexpectedly hidden in a Baby born in a manger.
God is hidden in the bread and wine of communion, and in the unexpected experiences of grace, love, forgiveness, hope which happen to us, through us, for us, with us.

For a Pastor from New Orleans taking a special intercity training in which he had to spend three days on the streets with only pennies in his pockets, cold, hungry, alone, God came in the form of a bartender offering a drink to warm his insides.

For a black man from Chicago with a cripple son God came in a gift of money given by strangers who were on the same flight with him.

For a man standing by the grave of his infant son, God came not so much in the words spoken by the Pastor as in the hand shake which they exchanged.

On and on and on it goes.  God comes in a Baby born in a manger, a man dying on a cross, a resurrection which goes beyond human imagination, and God comes in human acts of love, mercy, kindness, generosity which give hope to the hopeless and brings peace and joy to our lives.

"It is Christmas every time you
let God love others through you...
yes, it is Christmas every time
you smile at your brother and offer
him your hand."    Mother Teresa








Prayer though for the week:  “Lord, come as you came and let your love shine through my life in ways I never dreamed possible.”

Dec. 24,2016 Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve is a time for a story.  A story which captures something of the Christmas story and helps us feel and see how great it is!  The mystery and miracle of Christmas is not only that it happened. but that it happens still in moments and experiences we can not fully understand yet which warm our hearts and challenge us to see something of the presence of God in our lives.

Here is a story which does just that.  

Dec 18, 2016 Advent  4

Matt.1:18-25  (The Promise)

18 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) 19 Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. 20 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. 21 She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus - 'God saves' - because he will save his people from their sins." 22 This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: 23 Watch for this - a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us"). 24 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. 25 But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.


The Christmas story as told by Matthew is a reminder that all things were not easy for Joseph or Mary.  It is no small thing to believe that “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

Joseph was a special sort of person who risked much on a dream and on a willingness to be used by God.

He did not reject Mary openly; he did not even “put her away secretly”, but took her as his wife and became a part of the greatest drama to ever happen - the birth of  Immanuel - God with us!

As we celebrate Christmas the question looms - Is it possible God would do something through us, like God did through Joseph, if we only dared dream enough and risk enough?

“It is Christmas every time you
let God love others through you... yes,
it is Christmas every time you smile at
your brother and offer him your hand."  
Mother Teresa











Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, let Christmas come through me,
hidden ‘in, under, and with’ my words and actions this week, and every week.”

Dec 11, 2016 Advent 3

Matt.11:2-6  (The Message)

2 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples 3 to ask, "Are you the One we've been expecting, or are we still waiting?" 4 Jesus told them, "Go back and tell John what's going on: 5 The blind see, The lame walk, Lepers are cleansed, The deaf hear, The dead are raised, The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side. 6 "Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!"

The mystery and miracle of Christmas is that it comes in the most unlikely places.
John wasn’t sure it was in Jesus - who was too soft for John.
We too are not always sure where God is in our midst - is God really there in the infant holy, infant lowly?  Yes!  And It is a holy mystery.

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science (and true religion).
Who ever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead.”          Albert Einstein




"The most beautiful experience we
can have is the mysterious.”
Albert Einstein










Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, mysterious Lord, help me to believe what the eye cannot see, and what the mind cannot comprehend.  Help me to believe that it did happen!  And that it continues to happen, as love overcomes hate in my life and through my life.”  Amen

Dec 4 2016 Advent 2

Matt.3:1-2  (The Message)

1 While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called "the Baptizer," was preaching in the desert country of Judea. 2 His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: "Change your life. God's kingdom is here."

The call to repentance sounds out of step, yet it is very much in step.  For repentance is the source of real joy.  It is the means by which we are set back on course.  It is something we need to do often.  It means turning around, changing direction; it is positive not negative, helpful not hurtful, necessary not optional, healthy not harmful, and even humorous, not always heavy.

Our challenge is to practice repentance until it not only feels good but also becomes a part of our very being; something we do often and joyfully because we know it leads to the joy of forgiveness.




“Repentance is the first
positive step of faith.”









“Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to turn my life around (repent)
when I am going the wrong direction.  Keep me going Your direction, not mine.”