Symbols of Christmas

Christmas Eve

Luke 2.1-20

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 27:50)

 

Symbols are important to us humans. They help shape and provide meaning in our lives. A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a video on the internet that left me in absolute disbelief. A video that illustrates the importance of symbols, how they can be misunderstood, and how incredibly important they can be. Particularly during challenging times. It was the story of a dispute between a couple in Raleigh, North Carolina, and their homeowners’ association. The couple placed a six-foot wooden cross on their lawn for Christmas. They had originally put up the cross for Easter. People in the neighborhood really liked it because they saw it as a symbol of hope. So, the couple decided to put it back up for Christmas. As the couple noted, for them, the cross stands for the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So why not put it up at Christmas?

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Where God Chooses to Dwell

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year B)

2 Samuel 7.1-11, 16; Luke 1.26-38

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 13:15)

 

Here on the fourth Sunday of Advent, we take up the subject of God’s choice of dwelling places. We start with our Old Testament reading from Second Samuel, in which the prophet Nathan delivers a message from God to King David. David has ascended to the throne, succeeded in uniting the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and established Jerusalem as the capital of the United Monarchy. David reasons that since he now has a nice palace built of cedar, it is not right that God should still be living in a tent. You see, during the time the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, there was a designated tent, the tent of the meeting, where the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments was kept. The tent of the meeting was essentially the place of worship during the 40-year wilderness journey. As such, this tent was thought to be the place where God lived. Some 200 years later, since arriving in the Promised Land, God continued to live in the tent. David figured it was now time to build God a proper home.

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Bearing Witness in Word and Action

Third Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11; John 1.6-8, 19-28

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 14:00)

 

Déjà vu all over again! Didn’t we just hear this Gospel reading last week? Well yes, yes we did. Sort of. Last week we heard Mark’s version of the same event: the religious authorities and others going out to see John the Baptist at the River Jordan. Although, today’s version from the Gospel according to John is more detailed. Of course, the question could be raised—and I’m sure some of you are thinking it—why didn’t the framers of our lectionary pick one or the other? Why have two versions of the same story taking up valuable scriptural real estate in Advent where we only have four Sundays to begin with? That’s a good question. And I wish I had a good answer. But I don’t. So, this is where we are. This is what we have to work with. And work with it we shall. While we may not be able to explain why we have essentially the same story two weeks running, we can look at this second go-round and see what more we can glean from our friend John the Baptist.

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The Beginning of the Good News. Just the Beginning.

Second Sunday of Advent (Year B)

Isaiah 40.1-11; Mark 1.1-8

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 12:45)

 

Like many ancient writings, the Gospel According to Mark starts off with a prologue—the first 13 verses—which, typically introduced the main characters and provided the basic knowledge needed for the hearer to follow the ensuing story. The prologue often gave a bit of a summary so that there were no surprises. The ancients did not like suspense, believing it caused the mind to wander. To prevent this from happening and to keep the audience engaged, the author needed to provide clues as to where the story was going.[i]

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