“Hello . . . Joseph? It’s Mary. “Say, I’ve got some great news. Remember how we said we wanted to start a family sooner rather than later? Well, we’ve got our start – I’m pregnant! “Joseph? Joseph? Yes, of course I know you can’t be the father. Mother and I had ‘the talk’ a long [...]
This season of Advent, we have been pointing out, is a season of preparation for Christians. And not just preparing in the sense of decorating the house, and baking the cookies, and shopping for the presents for Christmas; but also the preparing of our selves, a look inside, a time for reflection and any needed repentance. How do we do that kind of preparation? Where do we look to find out how to prepare? Well, perhaps some guidance is available from some of the people who prepared themselves for the first coming of Jesus, so long ago. Perhaps they can in some ways serve as a model or example for us, as we seek to do our preparation now. […]
Today is the first day of the season of Advent, on our worship calendar. In fact, today is “New Year’s Day” on our worship calendar, the first day of the worship year, which makes sense when you consider that Jesus Christ is the center of our religion and worship, and that Christmas celebrates the beginning of his life, and that Advent is the time for us Christians to get ready for that beginning; this season becomes the logical starting point. So Happy New Year! We enter this season, and this worship year, today with a series of four reflections on Advent, which I’ve put together from a variety of sources and my own reflection. At the end of each reading, we’ll ask you to please join in singing the listed verse of the classic Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Please remain seated for that singing. The hope is that this observance will aid us in the reason for this season: preparing for the coming of the Lord. […]
Well, it’s been quite a month of celebrations, hasn’t it? We’ve had all the festivities leading up to Christmas: Advent, decorating, shopping for Christmas presents, wrapping all those presents; an Advent choral service, a puppet Christmas musical, our party in the Assembly Room, caroling, a variety of mission and giving projects. We went to malls, and rehearsals, and grocery stores, to get ready. Maybe you went to “Holiday in the Park” at Twin Lakes to see the displays, to help you get in the “Christmas Spirit” – did you see those wonderful red doors and stained glass windows right near the entrance? Or maybe you drove around to find houses with elaborate Christmas displays – or maybe put an elaborate display on your own house! […]
Mary’s Song, also known as The Magnificat, could probably stand alone, it is so powerful. The Magnificat magnifies the Lord in abundant thanksgiving. Important meaning to lives of faith is embedded throughout. We, who all have enough to live on adequately or well beyond, may get a little nervous over this song’s focus on the poor and downtrodden. Mary sang this song after she went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, after the angel Gabriel came to her giving her the news that she would be impregnated with a son who would become the Messiah. Elizabeth recognized that Mary’s baby would be a very special baby. She became quite emotional as she cries out to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” […]