κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we have witnessed his glory as the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. Would you look at this ... under the tree ... a nicely wrapped present.  It says here, Open at Christmas . What do you think it is?  Since it’s next to the pulpit, do you think it’s a special gift for me? Maybe it’s an end-of-the-year-tithe to support the mission of the congregation.  What do y’all think? Well, we’ll never know until we open it. So let’s open it! ... It says here, A gift to the congregation ... the gift of My grace in Jesus Christ. Signed, God the Father.   Brothers and sisters in Christ, amidst all the gifts that you’ve ever received, I trust you will treasure this one above all others: God’s perfect gift of grace and truth ... His Word. All of this … every word of it … points us to and then reveals God’s grace and truth ... the savior of the world, the savior promised in the garden ... the savior promise...

But Mary preserved all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  4 Isn’t that an interesting and even odd reaction to all that happened.  Think about it. You heard all of our readings tonight. While the world around her marveled at the proclamation of the Gospel from the shepherds, Mary, who had just given birth to God in the flesh, sits by quietly and ponders it all.  I mean, isn’t Christmas a time for celebration? And here Luke tells us that Mary preserved the Gospel ... quietly guarding it, keeping it, treasuring it. She quietly thought about it (2:19).  The contrast is striking.  You heard the angel chorus, right? You heard them rejoicing with Gloria in Excelsis, right? Think about how excited those shepherds must have been to hear the Gospel that God had come to us. They ran from the fields to bear witness to this extraordinary event. Those who were normally last to hear the good news were first. And they undoubtedly sang Praise God from whom all bles...

But to as many who did receive him, to those believing in his name, he gave them authority to become children of God, not having been begotten of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the desire of man, but of God. We have before us tonight one of the more beautiful promises in scripture. The Word of God has come, the Word of God continues to come, and the Word of God will come again. And to those who receive him, he gave the authority to become children of God. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. And nothing can take that away from you. The Word of God that created all things doesn’t change his Word or promises. He comes into the very world that turned its back on him. He came once to suffer the darkness of sin and death on the cross before rising into the Light of Life. More than that he continues to come into this corrupted world that we might be forgiven and granted hope, peace, and joy. Risin...

Women in our culture are too often celebrated for what they look like instead of who they are. You see and hear this all the time in our media ... television, radio, and celebrity magazines ... ads for diet pills and plans, cosmetics and calisthenics. It’s all aimed at showing us what we can be if only we’d improve the way we look and feel. It’s an endless parade of glitter and glam, the young and beautiful. And it keeps us from recognizing true beauty.  There’s no such problem in our Gospel reading today. In Luke chapter 1, we see true beauty in two women and their response to our Beautiful Savior. Luke doesn’t bother to tell us what these women looked like. He doesn’t mine the details of their fashion. He simply shows True Beauty.  5. The first of these women was probably quite young, perhaps a teenager. Her name was Mary. As was the custom of the day, she was engaged. Her fiance was a carpenter named Joseph. And, as you know, she found herself pregnant. The angel Gabriel ha...

The real light that enlightens all men was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. There is a difference between what is true and what is real.  Truth is based on empirical evidence ... on the experiences or observations of the external world. To establish something as true, you must test it, touch it, see it. Truth is an established fact. To speak biblically, you know Jesus is true. We saw him and touched him.  Reality, on the other hand, is based on universal existence. Reality does not change. Reality is a fact that exists. It is historical. It too can be observed, but you need the right light. The difference between reality and truth could be explained this way. Gold is real and it has true value. The value of gold constantly changes, but the reality of gold never does. It always remains the same.  5. So why am I telling you all of this ... dissecting the words truth and reality? They are b...

Now when John heard in prison about the work of the Christ, having sent word by his disciples, he said to [Jesus], ‘Are you the coming one or should we look for another?’ And when Jesus answered, he said to them, When you have gone, announce to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight and the lame walk; Lepers are being cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are being raised, and the poor are being evangelized. And blessed is the one who is not scandalized by me.’ I want to tell you a story ... a story that never happened. The mother of four young children was critically injured in a devastating car crash that left her hospitalized for three months. During this time, the children weren’t allowed to visit their mother ... because of COVID protocols and whatnot. The only contact the children had with their mom was by telephone. Finally, the day came when Mom could return home. Her oldest daughter met her at the door with screams of delight.  Mom, you’re home! Excitedly, ...