Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I shared with St.Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve, 12/24/15. The scripture text is Luke 2:1-14. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go..." Do we really miss the snow? Ray's hoping for orange trees to start sprouting in the front yard of the parsonage any day now. This is such a wonderful time of the year as we gather with family and friends. We love the music and the food and all those nostalgic things that make this time of year Christmas. Bethlehem and all its excitement with Jesus' birth seems far removed from our reality. We live in a world of materialism in which Christmas advertising begins around Halloween. By the time Christmas has arrived, we are already Christmased out. But don't let that stop you. There is good news here for us in tonight's gospel reading. Mary and Joseph too went home--they went to Bethlehem because of a decree issued by the...

 We are nearing the end of our Advent journey that takes us to Bethlehem. This is my sermon from the last Sunday of Advent, 12/20/15. I preached this at St.Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Luke:1:39-45. Think about how you would respond if a relative showed up at your door unannounced? Besides that, she was going to be staying with you for a while. Not only would she be staying with you, but she is young, maybe 14 years old, unmarried and she is pregnant! Would you welcome her in with open arms or would you grit your teeth, while you welcome her, thinking to yourself, "Don't go away mad. Just go away." Imagine how Elizabeth felt when Mary stood at her door. There Mary was--alone, young and pregnant.   In addition to that, Elizabeth's husband is a priest. How would Mary's situation affect his reputation? Today's gospel is imbued with divine revelation. Elizabeth and Mary demonstrate to us how to respond faithfully to God's guiding ...

 This past Sunday, 12/13, we had a cantata at St. Timothy, but I did preach at St. Mark.. The gospel text was Luke 3:7-18 . I had a good friend where I worked a number of years ago, named Ela. She would always tell me exactly what she thought about anything--no holds barred. At times, this could be painful. But I always knew where I stood and I came to value not only her friendship, but her advice. Have you ever had a friend like Ela, one who does not mince their words and always tells it like it is? It isn't always easy to have such a friend because there are times when the truth they tell you is painful. But you always know where you stand and you can trust that person to tell you exactly what they think whether you ask them or not. John the Baptist is a friend who is telling us exactly what he thinks and how he feels. He called a spade a spade, a viper a viper, and a hypocrite a hypocrite and did not care who was offended. John called his audience to a moment o...