Preachrblog

The Fullness of Time Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:22-40 The long wait is over, and here we are on the other side of Christmas.  I’ve always found it a bit easier, once we are past the actual day – once the gifts are unwrapped, the company has come and gone, and the dust settles… to be less distracted and more thoughtful about the true meaning of Christmas.  We can stand a little more apart from the busy-ness and sentimentality now that the world has moved on to Valentines Day decorating.  The church continues to reflect on the meaning of this holy birth, this precious child born to save. Today, I’d like to start with our reading from Galatians.  Here Paul reflects a bit on the meaning of Christmas with his commentary on Christ’s birth.  He explains that it happened “when the fullness of time had come”.  And there is a phrase worth examining.  The fullness of time.  We don’t usually think of time as being “full”, but rather as running out.  ...

The last reading set before us in Advent, as we wait in expectation and eagerly look toward our Christmas celebration – the final story we hear from Scripture before Christmas begins - is the Annunciation.   The angel Gabriel comes to see the virgin Mary, and proclaims to her the good news that she will be the mother of the Messiah, the Christ. It is no small event in its own right. It’s part of our creeds – that Jesus was conceived by Holy Spirit… Usually celebrated by the church on March 25 th , exactly 9 months before Christmas, the Annunciation marks the real beginning of the incarnation.   Jesus’ earthly life as a human being begins, we notice, in the womb.   He didn’t come from heaven as a man, fully matured and ready to do whatever.   He didn’t even appear simply as a baby.   But he undergoes the full extent of our human experience in order to redeem all of our humanity – not just cradle to grave, but womb to tomb. And so, just 5 days before Christmas...

Mark 1:1-8 “Comfort, Comfort” Mark begins his Gospel as abruptly as you might expect.   The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.   As it is written is Isaiah…. Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” And then John appears.   As if out of nowhere.   And John starts preaching – a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.   This is what the voice says.   This is how the way is prepared.   This is how Isaiah is fulfilled:   Repent, be baptized, and get your sins forgiven.   For the Lord is coming. Yes, every year, during Advent, John the Baptist makes his visit.   We’ll hear about him next week, too, in John’s Gospel.   Today, we see him especially in connection with the prophecy of Isaiah, a prophecy about the one who prepares the way. That Isaiah passage begins with the...