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Collect

God our deliverer,
you walk with the meek and the poor,
the compassionate and those who mourn,
and you call us to walk humbly with you.
When we are foolish, be our wisdom;
when we are weak, be our strength;
that, as we learn to do justice
and to love mercy,
your rule may come as blessing. Amen.
 

Readings

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12
 

The Beatitudes 

As I reflect this week on the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, I am taken back to Sunday School when we were asked to recite all eight blessings. And while I admit I couldn’t remember more than two or three off the top of my head, I do know that being “blessed” equates to being in the grace and favour of God. 

Out of our struggles we will emerge, and we will bless the world despite it. We will bless the world because of it.

Now, it is easy to believe that we are blessed when things in life are going our way. I have never doubted God’s favour when I have a full bank account or a new season of my favourite TV show. But when I reacquainted myself with these verses this week, my expectation and idea of blessings was turned completely upside down. Our reality is that we are living in a world full of sin, and Jesus is reminding us here that our lives will be filled with difficulty and periodic suffering. But the good news is, we do not have to be afraid! We do not have to hide from our weaknesses or our problems, and we do not have to hide them from others.  For both our relationship with Jesus, and our steadfastness in faith, grow the most during hard times. Out of our struggles we will emerge, and we will bless the world despite it. We will bless the world because of it. 

So I invite you, too, to evaluate blessings in a different way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Collect

God of Blazing light,
through the power of the cross you shattered our darkness,
scattering the fears that bind us
and setting us free to live as your children.
Give us courage and conviction
that we may joyfully turn and follow you
into new adventures of faithful service,
led by the light that shines
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 9:1-4

Psalm 27:1, 4-9

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Matthew 4:12-23

In our Gospel from Matthew for this week we hear about the beginnings of Jesus’s ministry. The choosing of his disciples, those who would walk with him and he would walk with. Regular, everyday kind of people, not kings or rulers who may have already had connections to many of the people, but instead they were fishermen, those who had to work hard to make a living. The disciples he chose were people he could teach, who would then pass on what they learn to others. Those who may relate better to those to whom they were to meet.

What does this have to do with us today? I don’t think many of us have been asked by God to leave all our things and loved ones behind to walk with Jesus. One could argue that we have a lot more to leave behind than those disciples did so long ago. We can still make that journey with Jesus without leaving our homes and families. It is a journey into a ‘Jesus Shaped Life’.

Jesus was about 30 when he began his ministry and I always just thought the reason he waited until then was just ‘Gods plan’. As always, a little bit of research can help with any question one might have. So, the reason he waited may have been because of the fact that priests could not begin public ministry until 30 and rabbis were not regarded as mature enough to do so until age 30.

If you look at the first few words from Matthew it says that ‘when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee……From that time Jesus began to proclaim, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’. Those same words were used by John the Baptist. So it looks like John the Baptist had to finish his ministry before Jesus began his.

In the first portion of Jesus’s ministry he chooses two brothers (fishermen) who are willing to leave everything they have and leave behind those they love in order to follow him. Not a lot of people would just get up and leave everything behind, but sometimes curiosity and desire to do something different can be a determining factor. And let’s be honest, God has a way to get us to do things we might never have thought we would or could ever do.

What does this have to do with us today? I don’t think many of us have been asked by God to leave all our things and loved ones behind to walk with Jesus. One could argue that we have a lot more to leave behind than those disciples did so long ago.

We can still make that journey with Jesus without leaving our homes and families. It is a journey into a ‘Jesus Shaped Life’. I heard those words recently and I much prefer them over ‘Be like Jesus’. Seems to me that is a monumental task sending me to failure. Jesus is perfect, I am not. This always reminds me of those teachers who say to a student, ‘why can’t you be more like your sister/brother?’ The answer is I am not them, I am different.

So, instead we journey to try to lead a Jesus shaped life. Everyday is a new day. We step out of bed and begin. Focus your mind on smiles and kind tones (may take a bit for some to wake up first), but starting with the right attitude in the morning helps. Sometimes a bit of meditation or a centering prayer may help to start the day off correctly.

Then, keep your eyes wide open. That way we can see what is truly out there in our neighbourhoods. Don’t shy away from the homeless guy on the corner or the person in the aisle ahead of you who fumbles with their wallet to pay what they owe. Have patience. Put aside your thoughts about why you think that person on the corner is homeless, just realize that they are and may need a bit of change or maybe a little to eat or something warm to drink, or maybe just a smile.

It isn’t just about looking out for those in need of our help, it is also seeing what is being done already to help them. It isn’t all gloom and doom. Like I said earlier, keep your eyes wide open. Look also for those who give to that homeless person, or the cashier who waits patiently for the person trying to find the right change and helping when asked. There are a lot of groups in the Niagara Region who are already doing their part to helping others and maybe it is time to join one of these groups. This is all part of leading a Jesus shaped life.

Looking back at the fishermen who left their lives behind to walk with Jesus. Although I said we don’t need to leave all our things behind, we do need to leave some of our old ways behind. If we are doing things that hinder our working toward a Jesus shaped life, then those things need to be changed. For me, sometimes it is just attitude. I have recently been working hard at remembering that a smile not only helps others, but it also can make me feel much better about the things that I need to do at that moment and feel better about myself in general.

When the day is done, just before you fall asleep, think back to your day. Did you do a fair job of trying to lead ‘a Jesus shaped life’? Could you do better? Maybe you need a little help from God, but don’t forget to thank him for your day.

Collect

Steadfast God,
you have enriched and enlightened us
by the revelation of your eternal Christ.
Comfort us in our mortality
and strengthen us
to walk the path of your desire,
so that by word and deed we may manifest
the gracious news of your faithfulness and love. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 40:1-11

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

John 1:29-42

The theme for the gospel for Christmas day was all about light and life, much like the Advent themes of joy, peace, love and hope. That theme of light rings through the readings for the whole season of Epiphany, the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The community scattered is not a safe place. To enter the world to be God’s light calls us to take risks, calls us to do new things in new ways, to engage in the world around us as God’s children.

The theme of light and life is nowhere more prevalent than in the gospel read on Christmas day, the prologue to the Gospel of John. Drawn from the creation account in Genesis that reads: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. And God said Let there be light. This celebrates the coming of Jesus for in him was life and that life was the light of all people. That light and life is now embedded in the community of faith, the church.

The church, the community of believers is and can be a sign of life and light in the world, a sign of hope, the Kingdom of God in action. Consider the food collections for community care, and money for PWRDF and the crisis in the Ukraine. These are things that our parish and many other congregations support, a culture of giving to others as a sign of God’s light and love.

At the same time, however, there is a call for us to reshape the church, to reconsider the role of the church as God’s action in the world.

Many people are talking about the essential characteristics of the church. On end of a continuum the church is a worship community, a community gathered for prayer and fellowship and mutual support.

On the other end of the continuum the church must become an incarnation of God’s love and light in the world not just a giving community but a community which stands with the suffering and the oppressed. A community which works in the world to relieve injustice, poverty, violence, and pain.

These two images of church, gathered and scattered must coexist, clearly we cannot be just one or the other.

The community gathered is a safe place, sheltered in prayer and ritual, word and sacrament.

The community scattered is not a safe place. To enter the world to be God’s light calls us to take risks, calls us to do new things in new ways, to engage in the world around us as God’s children.

And thus let us pray today:
That the light of faith which we celebrate in the birth of Jesus will light up our words and deeds, and that God among us and light in the midst of us will bring us to light and life.

Collect

Radiant Morning Star,
you are both guidance and mystery,
Visit our rest with disturbing dreams,
and our journeys with strange companions.
Grace us with the hospitality
to open our hearts and homes
to visitors filled with unfamiliar wisdom
bearing profound and unusual gifts. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

The Birth Narratives

(Reflection based on Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan’s The First Christmas)

Every year at Christmas we hear the stories of the birth of Jesus and watch enchanted as the children act out the familiar roles and events: angels sing to shepherds, Joseph & Mary journey to Bethlehem, the baby “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger,” the wise men coming at the end with their gifts. This popular pageant is a combination of the two separate stories found at the beginning of the books of Matthew and Luke, the wise men from Matthew’s birth narrative tacked on to the end of the story of the shepherds from Luke. Every year we hear and enjoy the story of Jesus’s birth, but we never spend time talking about the meaning of the stories; we present the story to children, but fail to discuss them as adults.

The stories of the birth of Jesus are filled with even more meaning beyond the often overlooked political dimension outlined here: a story about hope (because all babies are about hope for the future); a story for ordinary people (because the angels appeared to shepherds); a story about a star (symbol of light in a dark world); a story about wise men (and the search for wisdom); a story about love (Mary and Joseph’s love for their baby born in dubious and uncertain times); and a story, above all, about peace and goodwill on Earth. We all need to hear the story with our hearts and minds and respond with our lives.

Now there is actually a third birth narrative, and it helps us understand the other two: this third reading is from the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, written by John of Patmos at the end of the first century of the Common Era:

Chapter 12 A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. 3 Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

The tale is plainly mythological; it describes a woman about to give birth to a child “who is to rule all the nations.” A dragon waits to devour the child, but mother and child are rescued. The baby is clearly Jesus, and the dragon, the beast, is obviously Rome, the evil empire of that era, for later in the book of Revelation this same beast is described as a city built on seven hills that rules the world; in the first century, that could only mean Rome. Everyone knows the number of the beast, 666, and in numerology 666 stands for Caesar Nero, the emperor Nero, the first ruler of the Roman empire who actively persecuted the followers of Jesus.

This birth narrative by John of Patmos directly challenges Roman imperial theology, because the story mimics and subverts the story of the birth of Apollo, narrated in the myth of Apollo and Python. Apollo and his mother are threatened by the serpent Python but are rescued by Zeus; Apollo grows up and kills Python, thereby bringing light, order and reason to the world. The author of the Book of Revelation knows and echoes this story, but applies it to Jesus. In Roman theology, Apollo was the father of Caesar; all the Caesars of Rome are called “son of God” through Apollo. Nero, the beast, 666, sometimes even played dress-up as Apollo. John’s meaning is clear: Rome and its emperor are not Apollo, the bringer of light, but are Python, the ancient beast that seeks to destroy the light and to throw the world into darkness and chaos. The author of Revelation asserts instead that Jesus is the true light of the world. Jesus is Apollo—Rome and its emperor are not.

This political challenge to the authorities of Rome is actually developed in the familiar birth narratives from Matthew and Luke, but is lost to us unless we educate ourselves in the Biblical and historical context of the storytellers. The political conflict at the heart of Matthew’s birth narrative is the primary plot and theme: the magi, kings, wise men from the East, follow the star and ask Herod, the actual King of the Jews, the birthplace of a child who is to become King of the Jews; Herod tries to protect his own power and seeks to kill the child. Sound familiar? Matthew’s story presents a conflict between two kingdoms: the earthly secular one, ruled by Herod, the puppet king of Rome, and the kingdom of God, represented by a helpless, powerless baby, the son of a lowly carpenter; that the child survives Herod’s slaughter of all Jewish male infants under the age of two, the slaughter of the innocents—an incident not found in history—suggests hope for the birth of a kingdom based on justice and righteousness, a kingdom of peace and goodwill.

The political conflict of Matthew’s story should alert us to that same theme in Luke’s version; Luke’s birth narrative is the more familiar, popular version of the birth of Jesus, probably because it doesn’t seem to be, on the surface, about politics—it focuses on angels and shepherds, not kings. But Luke’s story is actually even more subversive than Matthew in its political references. All of the titles applied to the baby Jesus in Luke’s birth narrative: Divine, Son of God, God, God from God, Lord, Redeemer, Saviour of the World, all of these names at the time the story was written near the end of the first century were applied by Roman imperial theology to the emperor of Rome, Caesar. Caesar, descended from a god, from Apollo, was to bring peace to the world, but the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome, was brought about through violence: those Roman roads, some of which you can still see today across Europe, were the infrastructure that allowed Rome to dispatch its legions quickly anywhere in the empire where they were needed to quell revolt and to impose Roman rule. It was a vicious rule of violence: if the legions came to town, they killed all the men, raped and enslaved the women and children, destroyed the crops and the town completely. The peace of Rome was peaceful only for the victors, the Romans; for its victims it was cruel, harsh oppression.

To present the Christ child as superior to Rome’s divine emperor, as is done in all three birth stories, was considered utter treason in this Roman ruled world: the nativity stories assert that Jesus is the Son of God, and the emperor is not; Jesus is the saviour of the world, and the emperor is not; Jesus is Lord and the emperor is not; Jesus is the way to peace on earth and the emperor is not. That’s why Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday and why all his disciples were executed and why Rome killed so many followers of Jesus in the coliseum: Christ and Christians threatened the power of Rome and in particular, the ruler of Rome, the divine son of a god himself, Caesar.

Jesus is presented in these three birth narratives as light shining in the darkness. Do the Herods and Caesars of this world seek to extinguish that light? Yes. Does the light still shine in the darkness? Yes. Archbishop Oscar Romero, a twentieth-century Christian martyr killed in 1980 by the powers that ruled El Salvador, once said that we are called to be Easter Christians in a Good Friday World, in a world still ruled by the descendants of Herod and Caesar. So, also, we are called to be Christmas Christians in a world that still descends into darkness. But Good Friday and the descent of darkness do not have the final word—unless we let them. Jesus is the light in the darkness for those who follow his way of peace and justice.

As we enjoy these stories each Christmas, and tell them to our children, the drama and the imagery work on our imaginations as all great literature does. It is important that both adults and children reflect on their themes. The stories of the birth of Jesus are filled with even more meaning beyond the often overlooked political dimension outlined here: a story about hope (because all babies are about hope for the future); a story for ordinary people (because the angels appeared to shepherds); a story about a star (symbol of light in a dark world); a story about wise men (and the search for wisdom); a story about love (Mary and Joseph’s love for their baby born in dubious and uncertain times); and a story, above all, about peace and goodwill on Earth. We all need to hear the story with our hearts and minds and respond with our lives.

Collect

God of all ages,
in the birth of Christ
your boundless love for your people
shattered the power of darkness.
Be born in us with that same love and light,
that our song may blend with all the choirs of heaven and earth
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 9:2-7

Psalm 96 (sung)

Titus 2:11-14

Luke 2:1-20

Throughout Advent we have been reflecting on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. They are all the wonderful gifts we are each given at Christmas. God enters our time and space, our bodies, lives and our reality and dwells with us in order to give us these gifts.

We are each one of us the beloved of God.

In Charles Dickens classic, ‘A Christmas Carol’, the character Scrooge is taken on a journey which allows him to see his life through a different lens, in the end although nothing in the world or in Scrooge’s life has actually changed, everything is different. It’s because Scrooge is different and what has changed is how he sees the people and the world around him and even how he sees himself.

This is the gift we receive from Jesus at Christmas, the world around us is still filled with violence, our lives are affected by sickness and death but how we react to the world, how we see it through the lens of Christmas changes everything. Christ coming to us shows us in technicolour beauty and angelic singing that God loves is, is with us through all that happens to us, never has and never will abandon us and that is what our hope is founded on. This is how we can access peace in the midst of turmoil, how we can experience joy even at times of sadness.

We are each one of us the beloved of God. Amen.

Collect

Shepherd of Israel,
may Jesus, Emmanuel and son of Mary,
be more than just a dream in our hearts.
With the apostles, prophets, and saints,
save us, restore us,
and lead us in the way of grace and peace,
that we may bear your promise into the world. Amen.

Readings

Isaiah 7:10-16

Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

What is it like to be asked to do something by God, especially when we have already made a decision on what we are planning to do, which turns out to be against or different from what God is asking of us? Do you hear what God is asking of you; do you ignore it or do you embrace it, possibly with a bit of fear?

This child that Mary was going to have came from the love of God. Love is our fourth candle to be lit this week. I think this is most appropriate to be the last of the four that we light. This love for us, to receive a saviour from God becomes more powerful as each week of Advent goes by. For some of us Christmas can be a rough time, but this power of love can do more than we can ask or imagine.

Our Gospel reading for this week focuses on Joseph and his answer to God when he hears that Mary is with child. When I first looked at this reading from Matthew I looked at the NIV version so that is what I prepared for. One word in particular is added to this reading that is not in the NRSV.

Here is the paragraph from NIV

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly”

The word ‘divorce’ confused me. If Mary and Joseph were not yet married, how could they get a divorce? It turns out that the word ‘engagement’ was quite different than it is today. Marriages were arranged by the parents of the bride and groom sometimes even without the couple knowing about it. The families would enter into a binding contract and at that time Mary and Joseph would have been considered married. But the ‘honeymoon’ would not happen for what could be up to a year. This ‘time between’ is where the angels come into play. First for Mary and then Joseph in a dream.

I suppose that the dream each of them had would have been ones that they would have not forgotten when they woke up in the morning, but a dream is just a dream isn’t it? Some of them get so far fetched that you wonder where that came from and just shake it off as a dumb dream. This dream for Joseph meant he had to have faith, that it was true, as far fetched as we all would have thought it to be. (Mary was to have a child and the father of that child was of God). What amount of faith does it take for someone to say yes to this? I can’t imagine someone with just a little faith following through with it. What if Joseph had said no? God gave us free will and allows us to make our own choices, however many of us know how pushy God can be when he really wants us to go down a certain path. What would it have meant for Mary and Jesus if Joseph said no? Mary and Jesus’s life would have been a lot more difficult. Even today, it isn’t easy to be a single mom, but back then things would have been much more challenging and possibly impossible. But then again nothing is impossible with God. I suppose he would have figured out a way to have the answer from Joseph be yes eventually.

This child that Mary was going to have came from the love of God. Love is our fourth candle to be lit this week. I think this is most appropriate to be the last of the four that we light. This love for us, to receive a saviour from God becomes more powerful as each week of Advent goes by. For some of us Christmas can be a rough time, but this power of love can do more than we can ask or imagine.

Sometimes for me a certain line in a hymn, a prayer or even a story can jump out at me and stay with me for a long time. There are 14 words that we have heard on Sunday mornings recently that are so important for me.

“God could not love you more than God loves you at this very moment.” When I hear these words on Sunday morning that are said with compassion, I am filled with Peace, Hope, Joy and Love.

Blessings to all of you this Christmas and always.