The letter to Titus affirms that Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is an appearing for the purpose of salvation. As we will be reminded again at Easter-time, Jesus’ arrival into our world isn’t a reward for those who have been nice instead of naughty. It is, instead, an God’s act of mercy on our behalf. It is an act of God’s grace, activated in baptism, so that we might be forgiven of our naughtiness and receive the best Christmas gift of all — an eternal seat in the heavenly presence of God.
Browsing Posts published in December, 2011
Christmas is Personal
December 25, 2011
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A Night for Singing
December 24, 2011
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This is the night when God meets us in the messiness of each of our lives. From the fragility of birth to the struggle through adolescence to the learning of a trade. He lived our lives — from the forming of relationships to the conflict in families and even in the endurance of great suffering. In the humanity of Jesus, God took the initiative to create a lasting bond with each of us — the very bond that has been God’s desire from the first day of creation.
That’s why we sing. We sing because of the relationship. We sing because, in Jesus, God meets us in our solitude with a heavenly companion who walks alongside us during the living of our lives. We sing because we are known. We sing because we are understood. We sing because we have a friend in Jesus.
“Nothing Will Be Impossible”
December 18, 2011
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There are many among us who will struggle during these next days with difficulties in their families, their communities, and even in their churches. Whether your difficulty is with idle talk among church members or with Uncle Henry’s habitual drunkenness at the Christmas party; whether your difficulty is with an unreasonable neighbor or with family expectations that cannot be met; whether your difficulty is in the memory of a Christmas that can never happen in quite the same way again or in meeting the needs of all the people in your blended family; remember today the brave and faithful young woman who accepted the impossible role of mother of the Lord.
Forward in Hopeful Expectation
December 17, 2011
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These last months have also provided me with a sense of rising expectation for the future of St. Stephen Church. They have been months of dreaming and brainstorming, months of consulting with experts, months of planning and sharing. Let me share a few of the things that lay behind my sense of rising expectation.
Comfort. Comfort.
December 4, 2011
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We understand the dual character of expectation during Advent. The expectation of children is for the coming celebration of Christmas. It is through the experience of the years, though, that a new expectation comes to define these days — the expectation of the coming of the Lord.
