Embodying the Word

First Sunday after Christmas

John 1.1-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

In this Christmas season, while we still (hopefully) are basking in the joy of standing at the foot of the manger with shepherds and animals alike, gazing with adoration upon a precious child who has just been born, wrapped in strips of cloth, watched over by Mary and Joseph bursting with love, it can be a little jarring to shift gears and to try to take in John’s version of what happened in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. The Prologue to John’s Gospel bears little resemblance—actually, no resemblance—to Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. But while John’s account may lack a sense of the warm and fuzzy that we so like this time of year, he makes up for by getting at the true heart of what Christmas is all about.

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Word-Made-Flesh-mas

Christmas Day

Hebrews 1.1-4; John 1.1-14

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Merry Word-Made-Flesh-mas!

Okay, so that just doesn’t seem to have the same ring to it as “Merry Christmas.” But then again, our Gospel for Christmas Day, with “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1.1), followed by “And the Word became flesh and lived among us” (Jn 1.14), while poetic, just doesn’t seem to have the same ring as the angelic proclamation we heard on Christmas Eve. “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk 2.10-11). That’s always the cognitive disconnect we experience on this day.

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God WITH Us

Christmas Eve

Isaiah 9.2-7; Titus 2.11-14; Luke 2.1-20

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

“I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk 2.10-11).

Wait a minute! There’s got to be some mistake! Something just doesn’t add up. The angels are proclaiming the birth of the Messiah. The Son of God. The King of Kings. But instead of being born in Rome, the most powerful city at the time, or even in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, we are told that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. A small, backwater town. Is this a fitting place for the birth of a King? I think not.

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"Rejoice in the Lord Always"

Third Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Zephaniah 3.14-20; Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12.2-6); Philippians 4.4-7; Luke 3.7-18

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Today, the third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday, which derives its name from the Latin word Gaudete, meaning “Rejoice,” the first word of the traditional introit for this day's mass. The words that we hear in our Epistle reading: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil 4.4). A call to rejoice in the Lord because he is near. Expressing the joy that we derive from being in the presence of Christ. And the accompanying “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” which guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4.7). Paul writes these words as a reminder to the Church in Philippi that Christ will soon come again, bringing a renewed joy when he returns to usher in the end of the ages. A reminder that, for Paul, joy supports and upholds those whose lives even now belong to Christ. Words of hope that encompass our own understanding of the meaning of Advent.

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Called to “Prepare the Way of the Lord”

Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Luke 3.1-6

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

In our readings for today, we see how salvation history builds from the ancient past to the present. Malachi foretells the coming a messenger to prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. That messenger is John the Baptist, who himself points to the coming of Jesus. We then move on in time to Paul’s words of encouragement to the Church in Philippi, urging the early followers of Jesus in that place to continually move in faith into the future. We are that future. In so doing, these readings set us firmly in the arc of salvation history.

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"Be Alert at All Times"

First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

1 Thessalonians 3.9-13; Luke 21.25-36

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

“Be alert at all times.” As we begin our journey into Advent, these words of Jesus in today’s Gospel serve as a watchword for how we are to enter into this holy season. This command to “be alert at all times” carries with it a sense of expectation and anticipation that something is definitely going to happen. Maybe even something that calls for preparation on our part. But the question is, how to prepare?

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