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Tag Archives: Advent
Christmas is coming
“Christmas is coming” meant that somebody was running out of patience, out of breath like a woman in labour; like a baby in the birth canal, out of options to retreat; as though, if one didn’t pay attention to the tone of a mother’s exasperation, pregnant and impending, one day it would be too late. Continue reading
Advent snowfall
Snow: slowrelentless coveringsharp corners disguising thin ice with deep pilesuffocating beauty: eachfractal shrugging off the image of its neighbour endless variations ona theme devised before danger delivered into the world under the shadow of life
Dreamers
On the night before Jesus died, his closest friend denied three times that he even knew the man. In the nights before Jesus was born, Joseph dreamed. Would we be ready to stake our reputation on the acknowledgement that yes, Jesus is the Son of God; that yes, the way of the Cross, the way of self-giving, selfless, vengeance-denying love is the way to life, liberty, and the pursuit of heaven; that yes, Jesus, born of Mary, is God Incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us? Continue reading
Posted in Advent Meditations, Holy Days, lectionary reflection, sermon, story
Tagged Advent, Incarnation, Joseph, Virgin birth
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Good news, you brood of vipers!
“If you have two coats, give one to someone who has been left out in the cold,” offers John. It is almost literally the least we could do. Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged Advent, armistice, Jesus, John the Baptist, salvation, Silent Night
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TLK W GOD
It is our calling to cry out the goodness of God in Christ; not as a way of advertising our own services, but for the sake of the gospel itself, because we know that life is better with God, that we are comforted by the Sacraments of Christ, and the communion of saints. Continue reading
Posted in Advent Meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Advent, bumper sticker, Christmas, Eva ngelism, God, Jesus, Year C Advent 2
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Stand up for Advent
Do not become consumed by signs of turmoil. Stand up. Raise your heads. Give voice to the gospel. Expect God. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Advent, Bethlehem, climate change, gospel, gun violence, Holy Land, immigration, Luke 21:25-36, St Nicholas, Year C Advent 1
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When Advent meets Christmas
For Mary, Gabriel has opened a portal, a wormhole, an anomaly through which our history, this moment in which the blessed Incarnation is begun, is fused with eternity. Continue reading
Posted in Advent Meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged Advent, annunciation, Christmas, Emmanuel, Incarnation
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Mangled time: a love story
Advent is not the most comforting season of the liturgical year. It itches with anticipation. It scratches at the walls like a prisoner counting out the days. It mangles time, mixing up what has been with what will be, preparing … Continue reading
Posted in Advent Meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon, story
Tagged Advent, gospel, keep awake, love story
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Kamehameha and Emma
These two monarchs are commemorated with the same gospel as we read on Christ the King Sunday, because they modelled their reign on public service, serving as shepherds of their people, and feeding the flocks entrusted to them with justice and mercy, except, it seems, for the occasional accident. Continue reading
Advent joy
I was blessed to hear our deacon-in-training preach this morning, so instead of a sermon for Advent 2, I am sharing the reflection from the closing Eucharist of yesterday’s Advent Quiet Day at St Peter’s Episcopal Church, Lakewood, Ohio. The … Continue reading
Posted in Advent Meditations, lectionary reflection, meditation
Tagged Advent, joy, Matthew 3:12, RS Thomas, WH Auden, Year A Advent 2
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