Archive for category: Sermons

“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.'” — Matthew 26:26

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” … Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” Rev 21:1-6a

As Christians, we believe that when we gather around the communion table to remember the last night Jesus was with his disciples in the Upper Room, it is beyond just an “historical” remembering. It is also a remembering “into the future.” We gather around the table with all who have ever done so, who do now, and who ever will do so. It is a “little heaven below” that transforms us into the One Spirit. As we stand on the precipice of the new year, we begin this series with a commitment to “break open” our lives to God’s future for us.

“Unto you a child is born and he will be called Prince of Peace.”

The night of mystery and awe has arrived. And Jesus is born into a world fully human and finite in its pain and beauty. And God breaks in upon our lives yet again in and through our belief of that which transcends our human limitations. We believe. We believe.

“What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people…”

In this last week of Advent, our anticipation, our yearning, for the light is palpable. What is this growing within us? As our theme song has proclaimed, even when the sun is hidden from sight, even when love feels remote, even when we’re not sure of God’s presence… we sense that the light is coming, love is near and the holy is born yet again in the midst of the pain of life. There is hope. There is light.

“Look, I am sending my messenger before you… he will prepare your way…

A seeming madman named John is prophesying in the wilderness. He speaks of one who will come after him, puzzling the people. “Who are you,” ask the people. “Are you the one who will deliver us from our fear and hardship and oppression?” Often we are left wondering these same questions. At times in our lives when we feel unsure of our next steps, when fear grips us in the face of uncertainty, when we look around and wonder when God will address injustice… when God will show up and save us… we yearn for the messenger, for the way to be made plain before us.