Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18 1 Corinthians 6: 12-20 Last weekend we celebrated the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. and I think about how his work changed the world in which we live. His sermons and other writing have left a lasting impact on our nation’s values and, even when it seems like we are moving backwards, we have his words to steer us toward a vision for a more just and loving world. He wrote one of his most impactful works while he sat in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, arrested for taking part in nonviolent protests. The story is often told that he wrote it on toilet paper because that was all he had available. But as good as that sounds, it isn’t true. He began writing on scraps of paper and, eventually someone gave him a writing pad. He wrote in response to a letter […]
Continue readingMonth: January 2024
From Before Time
Genesis 1:1-5 Mark 1:4-11 I want to tell you a story about a young woman named Lauren. She was born and raised in North Carolina, the daughter of a Southern Baptist woman and a Jewish man, although neither of her parents was particularly religious. They agreed, though, that they would raise their children Jewish. And so, Lauren grew up attending Hebrew school in the Reformed Jewish tradition. Lauren, somehow, became very religious. She developed a strong affinity for the practices of orthodoxy. This created an interesting quandary for her. Although Lauren had been raised a Jew, the Orthodox community did not acknowledge her as a Jew because she was not born of a Jewish mother. So Lauren decided to convert. This involved a period of religious education, followed by an examination by three rabbis. Then the final step was the mikvah, which is a ritual bath – a kind of […]
Continue readingAssurance
Luke 2:22-40 We don’t hear much from the gospels about Jesus’ early life – his infancy and childhood, nothing at all about his teen years. But we do get a few important highlights from Luke. After the journey to Bethlehem, the birth, the angels and the shepherds. Then very briskly, 8 days later, at the appropriate time, the baby was circumcised and named Jesus, in accordance with what they had been told by the angel. Then came the time for the purification at the temple. It is prescribed in the book of Leviticus that a woman, after giving birth, should go through a ritual of purification which ends with the offer of sacrifices at the temple. Mary and Joseph travel to the temple where they will offer two turtle doves, which is an acceptable alternative for those who cannot afford to offer a sheep. This would have happened about 40 […]
Continue readingChristmas Eve: Light
Climb into the wayback machine with me for a few minutes. All the way back to Christmas, 1980. It was a special Christmas for my family because we knew that it would be my grandmother’s last. And everyone wanted to give her something special. We all wanted to make her wishes come true. It was an extravagant Christmas that year. She got all the things she had dreamed of. There was a plush velour rose-colored blanket. To be precise, the color was mauve, which was a very big color in the eighties. Mauve velour was all the rage. It would have been perfect if it could have been a mauve-colored velour electric blanket, but I think the heating elements would have melted that old velour material, so it wasn’t a choice. Then there was an exquisitely beautiful doll. Yes, this might seem a bit childish. But you need to understand […]
Continue readingAdvent 4: Love
Luke 1:26-38 Probably the Bible verse known by the most people is John 3:16. Most of you can say it on cue: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that those who believe in him may not perish but may have eternal life. The verse isn’t a part of our Advent or Christmas readings, but it is in the background of all of it. For God so loved the world. It is in the background of the story we hear this morning about King David. Sitting in his palace, feeling quite full of himself – he has, after all, defeated all his enemies. I imagine David’s approval ratings were sky high. And so now, with satisfaction, he looks around and says, “It’s a darn shame, isn’t it? I have this nice house and poor old God has to live in a tent. I’m going […]
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