January 2025 – Wicomico Presbyterian Church

Returning by a Different Way

Matthew 2: 1-12 I want to tell you a Christmas story. It’s about a family – a mother, a father, their three little boys, and a fourth child on the way. Mother was in the final weeks of her pregnancy. On Christmas Eve the family all went to church, and on the way home the mother said to the father, “Oof. This baby is coming tonight.” So they continued on their way home. They all went in the house, the boys just vibrating with excitement. They weren’t paying any attention to what mother and father were talking about – it was Christmas! They had more important things on their minds. Suddenly, father announced to everyone, “There are reports that Santa has been seen in the area,” as he points up toward the sky. And the boys’ eyes grew big. They knew what to do. They all scampered upstairs, put on […]

Christmas Eve: You Are Here

John 1:1-14 I want to tell you a true story about a woman named Sara. Sara was an adventurer. She traveled all over the world as a journalist, covering the most newsworthy events of the day. She was hungry for experience and she seized everything that was offered – worked with all kinds of people in all kinds of places. Unafraid of a challenge. Sara was always looking for something. Eventually, after many years, she slowed down, settled down. She bought a house, got a dog. And she started taking walks around her neighborhood. This was the extent of her travels now. One morning on her walk, she came by a church. It was a Sunday. She could hear the sounds of worship from inside the building. Without really thinking about it, Sara went inside. She found the congregation standing in the center of the room in a circle. She […]

Advent Four: When Holy Meets Lowly

Romans 13: 8-11 Luke 2: 1-14 On this final Sunday of Advent, we arrive at the place we have been traveling toward all month – Bethlehem. A few days before Mary and Joseph arrive, we stop here now in Bethlehem, to wonder at all that happened here in a place so humble and lowly. The word Bethlehem means “house of bread,” because it was a place where grain was grown, a very basic staple that humans depend on. You might recall that the Old Testament story of Ruth takes place in Bethlehem, during the barley harvest. Ruth, the foreign woman who arrived in Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi, goes out to glean in the barley fields, so that she and Naomi may eat. The law provided that everyone – the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, they were guaranteed the right to glean the fields so they might eat. They would […]