Due to unsafe weather conditions on Tuesday, our Parish had to postpone our Christmas Eve service of Lessons, Carols, and Communion until today (Sunday December 29). As such, our In-Person service this week will closely follow the At-Home Christmas Eve & Day service posted earlier this week, and found here:

For those seeking additional At-Home worship resources this week, you can find a Morning Prayer service for the First Sunday After Christmas, Songs to go along with this service, our Weekly Bulletin, and a Christmas message from Archbishop David Edwards below:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 62:6–12 | Psalm 97 | Titus 3:4–7 | Luke 2:1–20

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—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.’” (Luke 2:10-11).

Merry Christmas everyone! 
Jesus Christ is born. Heaven’s glory has entered into Earth’s dark night, in the tiny body of Mary’s boy. Today we celebrate the birth of our Saviour. The first breaths of the One who has come to be our Saviour… and the Saviour of our world.

Of course, we still have so many reminders all around us that our world is still longing to be set free. To be delivered from the darkness and selfishness and sin that continues to wreak havoc among us. In many ways, our world ignores the Good News we celebrate this day. But we who believe that in Jesus, who is God Himself right here with us, in the flesh… we celebrate despite the darkness, because we know that the Saviour has come… that at the cross, He has won… and in Him, our world’s deliverance is forever assured. 
​
In our Gospel reading today, we hear of the shepherds, out in the fields late at night. Everyday people, just going about their lives, with no sense that anything strange and wonderful was in the works. 

They were people living far from comfort… sleeping rough out in the fields with their sheep… living in a troubled corner of the world, far from the centres of power and influence… mostly preoccupied with simply making it through to another day… perhaps with a sense of longing for the ancient promises of God to be fulfilled.

And then, there in the darkness, God’s brilliant and terrifying glory suddenly bursts into their little world! Angels announce the Good News that the Christ has been born… that God has given to us a Saviour at last… and then the heavenly choir bursts into song, praising the Lord , and proclaiming peace on earth.

Imagine the shepherd’s sudden excitement! The hope that was suddenly lit within them… the promise of peace at last for their troubled and oppressed people… the joyful realization that the Living God was at work in their little corner of the world… that this Good News was for them to share in… and that God’s faithful love was reaching out to rescue and to embrace those sitting in darkness.

“the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—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.” (Luke 2:10-11).

Good News of great joy for all the people: a Saviour has been born this day. The Child King of God’s eternal Kingdom has come to set them free. To set us all free.

And so they go. They hurry off to see the One all this Good News of great joy is about.

And they see Him. And they believe. And along with Mary and Joseph, and maybe a few animals, these unknown shepherds are the only ones on earth who celebrate the very first Christmas… humble witnesses of the Son of God beginning His saving work.

And then they go again. As wonderful as that moment was, they could not stay in that stable forever. They have to go back to their sheep, and their fields, and their everyday lives, carrying the Good News of the Saviour’s birth with them. 

And this Christmas, as we celebrate the Good News of Christ’s birth, so many centuries later, and in our own quiet little corner of the world… we too must soon go back to our lives. But we need not go back unchanged. Untouched by the Good News we celebrate this day. Because the Good News of Christmas is the Good News of Christ: the Saviour who came to set us free. Who gave His life at the cross, and rose again from the dead to deliver us all from the powers of darkness, in all of its forms… and to bring God’s glorious light and eternal life to us forever.

So may we go with the Good News of Christmas always: with our hopes rekindled… with God’s peace calming our troubled hearts… with joyful expectation… and with full assurance of God’s faithful love… carrying the story of Jesus, God’s Son and Saviour of our world… and may we share this blessed story with all those around us. Amen.

Here is our Christmas Day sermon, 
inviting us to carry
​the Good News of Christmas
with us always.

Scripture Readings: Daniel 7:1-18 | Psalm 93 | Revelation 1:4-8 | John 18:33-38

“Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’” (John 18:37).

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Christian year, commemorating the reign of Jesus our Lord. It is an important celebration for us for many reasons, especially at times when there is deep  
confusion about what it really means to call Christ King… and what it means for those of us who follow Him to serve Him faithfully.

After all, not all who claim the name of Christ end up truly serving His Kingdom. Over the centuries, many have mixed up their own agendas with the mission of God.

One clear example of this from the last century was the so-called German Christian movement in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, which gained widespread support among many people of faith, and preached the wholesale realignment of the Christian Church with Nazi ideology… and making loyalty to their Leader… Adolf Hitler, the epitome of doing God’s will. 

We can also see this confusion and distortion at work in the operations of Christian Nationalist groups in our day… movements that try to establish the Kingdom of God in their own countries by seizing political power and influence to bring about God’s Kingdom by force… inevitably ending up betraying Christ and abandoning His ways in the process.

There are countless ways that our faith can, and has been, co-opted over the years. Which is why it’s so important for Christians today to have a clear-headed understanding of the Gospel: of who Jesus Christ is, and what He is doing… and what He is calling us to do in His name. And so, the Feast of Christ the King calls us to regularly reconsider our assumptions about how God’s Kingdom comes about… how we can share in it.

In our Gospel reading this morning, we jump right in to a clash of Kingdoms: we hear Jesus being questioned by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea, serving as the representative of Caesar, the head of the most powerful and influential Empire the world had yet come to know.

And in this encounter, Pilate can’t seem to make sense of Jesus. He can’t seem to understand why our Lord isn’t trying to avoid the horrible fate that is laying before Him.

Pilate knows all about power games. He understands the cut-throat competitions for influence, and jealous rivalries at work in so many societies. He can see that Jesus is actually innocent of the charges brought against Him by Jerusalem’s religious leaders… and that their calls for His execution have no legitimate basis.

But then Pilate hears that Jesus is called a King of the Jews… which is clearly a claim of authority and power… which must then be put in its ‘proper place’ under the absolute authority and power of Caesar in Rome and his subordinates.

But when asked about His supposed kingship, Jesus responds by challenging everything that Pilate thought he knew about real power and authority.

“Jesus answered, ‘My Kingdom is not from this world.’” (John 18:36).

Notice that He doesn’t say that His Kingdom has no place in this world… as if it only exists somewhere out there, disconnected from the daily realities of earthly life. He’s not claiming that His Kingdom has no authority or power here and now. 

No, He says His Kingdom is not from this world. It doesn’t arise from here, or rely on the world’s ways of doing things. It is not just another earthly realm. The kingdoms of the world lean on the threat of violence as the basis for their authority… their rulers rely on coercion and force, or manipulation to get their way. For example, the Roman Empire bragged about being the bringers of peace, but they could only do so by swiftly bringing the sword against any who might dare to defy them.

And we can see these same approaches at work in modern societies as well. Some countries use explicit violence and oppression to keep their subjects in line. Some rely more on coercion, manipulation, and political power games to get their way. But whatever tactics are being deployed, the general agenda is the same: people desire power, so they do whatever it takes to take it… even if it means crushing others in order to get it.

This is what the Romans, and so many other kingdoms of the world have done. But Christ is not that kind of King! So where does Christ’s Kingdom come from then? Where does its power and influence arise from, if not through earthly violence and force?

Our first reading today from the book of Daniel offers us an incredibly important glimpse into how Christ understood the basis of His Kingship, and how it must come about.

In Daniel Chapter 7, we hear one of the prophet’s visions, experienced at one of the lowest points in Israel’s story… after Jerusalem had fallen, after the Temple of God had been destroyed, and what was left of His covenant people were carried away into Exile by the most powerful kingdom in their day: Babylon… a violent, prideful Empire bent on forcing all others to bend their knees, and bow to their obvious greatness.

In Daniel’s vision, he sees a series of great kingdoms depicted as terrifying beasts… inhuman monsters capable of great ruin… the most fearsome of which ends up trampling on God’s people… crushing them beyond all earthly hope.

But then suddenly God Almighty, the true Lord of All, brings an end to these beastly rulers, and raises up those who were crushed by the beasts, to reign with Him in glory.

It’s a vision of great hope for Israelites like Daniel, who were still suffering in Exile… hope that the Living God would not abandon His people. Regardless of how vicious and powerful the kingdoms of the world may be, or how low their own circumstances might become, this was a message that in the end, God Himself would set things right, and they would be raised up to reign with Him.

Daniel’s vision was a powerful reminder for God’s people to place their hope and trust in the LORD… to remain faithful to His ways… and to not get swept up by the ways of the beasts.

For the only lasting victory over the beasts is the LORD’s own doing… it cannot be achieved by the might or power, of God’s people, trying to raise themselves up against their enemies, but only by the Almighty’s intervention, striking at the heart of evil’s power in ways that no earthly force could ever do… disarming evil for good.

Here we must turn to our second reading today from the book of Revelation. Here’s another plug for our Bible Study on Tuesday afternoons. We’ve spent the last eight weeks working through Revelation, and we’ve just reached verse eight last week! Clearly, there’s a lot going on in this book, which we won’t have time to get into today. But join us on Tuesday afternoons, and you might be surprised by the Good News this book has to share.

Just as a reminder: the book of Revelation is not simply a depiction of the end… it is a view of human history offered from God’s perspective… a vision revealing the truth of our world that’s often hidden from our eyes… and that the powerful kingdoms of our day actively deny.

This passage we read today is really just setting the stage for the rest of Revelation, introducing the key melodies that will be picked up and explored in greater depth, tying together important themes of the Gospel that run all throughout the Scriptures.

But to keep it short, the key point of this passage for this morning is the nature of God’s ultimate victory over evil… not just over the Babylonians, or Greeks, or Romans… but over every beastly Empire that will raise itself up and trample on the innocent. God’s Kingdom will overcome them, not by playing their games… not by coercion or force, or political maneuvering, or manipulation… but by the power of the cross.

This victory is won by what Jesus Christ Himself has already done, disarming the power of all evil, through His own death… and through His resurrection… and through His coming again.

He disarms the lies that prop up all these beastly kingdoms by being the faithful witness… the One who remained steadfast in the truth, exposing the world’s injustice, greed, violence, and pride as merely self-destructive delusions.

He disarms the fear of death, as the firstborn from the dead… who suffered the very worst physical fate that anyone could throw at Him. But three days later, He rose again, conquering the grave forever for those who trust in Him. 

And He disarms the power of all others who claim to be the masters of our lives, and the final authorities we are to pay our allegiance to… for Jesus Christ alone is the true ruler of the kings of the earth… He alone has been raised to God the Father’s right hand, and all other earthly rulers will one day be called to account before His throne to answer for everything that they have done. 

And in addition to disarming all these powers at work in our world… disarming the lies, and the fears, and the false-claims over our lives that bring about so much destruction, Christ also shows us how we are to serve within His good Kingdom. Revelation 1:5-6,
“To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”

We share in and serve in His Kingdom through faith in the Good News: by trusting in the love of Christ our King, who will never abandon us, no matter how hard things might get. By trusting in the gracious forgiveness and freedom He achieved for us by shedding His blood at the cross. And by trusting that through His Holy Spirit at work in us, we are being remade in His own likeness… empowered to share in His glorious ministry and reign with Him forever!  

Trusting that, with Him we are able to stand for the truth… even if it goes against the expectations of all those around us. Trusting that with Him we are able to face death faithfully, because Christ’s victory over the grave and everlasting life will also be ours. Trusting that, with Him we are able to stay true to God’s Kingdom, and to resist the many temptations to play along with the beasts at work today… remembering that Christ’s Kingdom may not be from this world… but it is for this world!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18).

This is God’s victory. This is our victory. One not achieved through violence or force… or political power games. But through the rescuing… reconciling… resurrecting love of the Living God, revealed once and for all in Jesus Christ our Saviour King. 

So let us rejoice in His steadfast love! Let us trust and believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and all that He has done to save us and our world. Let us stay true to Him… walking in His ways, and listening to His voice… as we await His coming again, and the fulness of His good Kingdom. Amen. 

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 61:10–62:3 | Psalm 148 | Galatians 4:4–7 | Luke 2:22–40

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” (Galatians 4:4-7).
 
What comes to mind when you hear the word: “family”?
 
Maybe you think of the images of your own relatives… partners, children, parents, siblings, and so on? And the joy-filled memories of times you felt surrounded by love and fellowship? Maybe you think of the pain that comes from feeling cut off from others… especially those you were once close to? Or maybe, like many people today, the idea of “family” feels like a mix of all this at once: heartache and hope, longing and belonging… chaos as well as communion?
 
The truth is, families are complicated blessings: A good gift from God to be sure, but one which brings along with it all sorts of challenges… and which requires all involved to grow into, and to nurture, to bear good fruit.
 
Now we know there are many reasons this time of year for us to be thinking about family. But we do so today especially because the first Sunday after Christmas is when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family: a day commemorating the shared life of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, which began in Bethlehem all those long years ago.

We remember that our Saviour didn’t just drop down from heaven, but was lovingly cared for and raised in a humble human community… with all it’s joys and challenges. We remember that the Word of God who spoke the whole Universe into being also listened and learned… was protected and provided for… was comforted and embraced by the trembling hands of a first-time mother, and an adopted father.
 
Today we remember and rejoice that Jesus, the Lord of Glory chose a completely unlikely… far-from ideal family to share in… in order to adopt all of us messy families into His own… that is, the Church: the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic community of Jesus.
 
Church communities are often called a family. And sometimes this can be meant quite literally! I myself grew up in a rural Church, surrounded by four living generations of relatives, and which had been founded by my ancestors going even further back. Many Churches still have these kind of deep roots, arising from tight-knit neighbourhoods. But on the other hand, with many Churches that’s not the case at all: communities of people who have had no real connection before.

The early Christian communities were of course a mix of both. Many churches began when a family, or household would receive the Gospel, and commit themselves to Jesus. And in time, when they would then share the Good News with their neighbours, some of them would believe as well, and begin to worship with them. Especially in small towns, these were all probably people they already knew quite well.

But there was another astonishing trend that took place even in the earliest days of the Church: people from completely different backgrounds… classes, cultures, and social spheres, who would NEVER have had anything to do with each other before, began to believe the Good News of Jesus… and to worship the Living God together, and even be baptized together into God’s new family.
 
This may not seem all that strange to us today, but it would prove to be a wonderful, world-changing scandal for the Church: slaves and their masters, women and men, Jews, and Greeks, and others from all over the world were starting to be treated as equals… as brothers and sisters before God. Not just rubbing shoulders, but learning to actually share their lives, and to love each other.
 
Of course, it wasn’t easy. And it went against so many of their natural and cultural inclinations. But it did become reality: humans like us learning to live as God’s family, not just in heaven, but right here on earth.

But even this gift of the new Christian family was a complicated blessing. Many found joy in the Good News of Jesus, and brought their old friends and family with them into the Church. Many others would find themselves rejected by their loved ones because of their faith in Jesus… and would have to endure great pain and heartache, as Christ Himself experienced, and warned us would be the case.

But this new community wouldn’t be dependent on our natural human bonds… our shared bloodlines, our social classes, our ethnicity, culture, traditions, or interests. Across all these barriers, we are bound together now by the Good News of Jesus Christ, and what He has done! And all of humanity can now be embraced and adopted into God’s family.
 
Right before our second reading today from the letter to the Galatians, St. Paul makes this startling claim that reminds us all of what it means to be in God’s family:
 
Galatians 3:26-29, “for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
 
In Christ. Trusting in Christ. Baptized into Christ. Clothed with Christ. One in Christ. Belonging to Christ. Nothing else can get us in, or keep us out, of God’s family.
 
And St. Paul goes on: Chapter 4:4-7,
“when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.”
 
Because of Christ Jesus, and what He has done, we can be adopted into God’s family… as full members, as heirs along with Jesus our Lord of God’s eternal kingdom. No matter where we come from, no matter how many mistakes we have made, or how hurt we have been by our world, because of Jesus Christ we can become true children of God, filled with His Holy Spirit, and sharing in the everlasting love of His Heavenly Father.

This is what it means to be a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church… this strange, messy, and complicated, but still blessed community of Jesus Christ here on earth. But as we know, the Living God doesn’t deal with ideals… but with our broken realities… in His mercy and love, making all things new.

After all, the original Holy Family itself was far from ideal: Mary was a nobody, graciously chosen to receive a miracle… to conceive and give birth to God’s Son… but that blessed gift would bring all sorts of unlooked for complications with it. And Joseph would have walked away, were it not for a visit from the angel Gabriel in a dream… convincing him to put aside his suspicions and fears, and keep their family together. And Jesus Christ Himself set aside His eternal glory to take on our humble humanity, all in order to reconcile sinners like us to God.

The Holy Family was complicated… but the Living God brought them together to bring about through them far more than Mary and Joseph could have imagined. And from the three of them would come the one worldwide family of God.
​
We catch a glimpse of this along with them in our Gospel reading from Luke Chapter 2, when out of the blue they are given the prophecies of Simeon and Anna in the Temple… blessed and challenged by two elders led by God to embrace this young family, and share the Lord’s word with them:

In Luke 2:29–32, holding the baby Jesus, Simeon says “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

In Christ, Simeon saw God’s salvation… for Israel, and all the nations… fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham, that through his descendant, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3).
 
And over the centuries since, God’s family has changed a lot. This little family… Mary, Joseph, and God’s Son, Jesus, would grow to become a truly worldwide community. Stretching not only across the Roman Empire, but across the whole earth.

Sometimes we have done a good job of staying true to our calling, and our beginnings… of growing together as a community bound to each other by God’s holy love, offered to absolutely everyone through Jesus Christ His Son.

And sometimes, we have failed pretty badly: becoming caught up in the old ways of the world… turning our hearts away from those who are not like us, cutting off those who come from a different class, a different culture… or who have different politics… forgetting that the Church, the family of God is so much bigger than we are, based on the Good News of Jesus, God’s Son, and what He Himself has done to adopted us all.

And so today, with a new year on the horizon, one question I’d like to challenge us to reflect on is this: how can we here in Gondola Point better embody God’s One, Holy Family? How can we be Living Faith, Growing Love, and Sharing Hope here together in ways that stay true to the Good News of our adoption by God in Jesus Christ?

Maybe we’re being called to nurture and grow in our existing relationships inside our Parish community… gathering together as brothers and sisters for worship, fellowship, and service?

Maybe we also need to reach out beyond our own circles to embrace those we don’t really know yet: welcoming visitors… building connections with our Christian brothers and sisters from other Churches… including those from our neighbouring Anglican Parishes here in the Valley?

Maybe we need to reflect on, and remember that the reason we belong to the Church at all, is not because of how good we may be, or how long our ancestors have lived here, or anything other than the Good News of Jesus Christ and what He has done for us… helping us start to see and treat everyone around us as those that the Living God longs to adopt as well.

In Christ, God has opened the door for everyone to become our adopted siblings… to share in the complicated but world-changing blessings that come with being the children of God. And by His grace, may we grow into and nurture the gift of God’s Family for all here in Gondola Point. Amen.
​

​And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:7–10 | Psalm 98 | Hebrews 1:1–12 | John 1:1–14

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).
 
Today we celebrate the truth of the story of Christmas… a message we have likely heard many times before: the story of the Living God taking on our humanity… born of the Virgin Mary… welcomed into the world, not by the high and mighty, in some imperial palace, but by humble farm hands… lowly shepherds huddled in a stable.
 
We know this story, which stirs up in us many memories of Christmases past. It’s a story wrapped up with hope, peace, joy, and love… and which holds a special place in our hearts, which is one of the reasons why we keep returning to it year after year.
 
But we know many other stories too… stories that the world around us is eager to tell. Stories of anxiety and despair. Stories of bitter divisions and war. Stories of sorrow, and drudgery. Stories of hatred and fear.
 
These are the stories so many are living by. The stories we’re all too often drawn into ourselves. These are the words on so many tongues, used to describe our world’s story… where we are headed.
 
But we know that there is another Word that will have the final say… a Word full of grace and truth.
 
The Almighty Word that spoke all Creation into being… causing the cosmos to become a place of light and life, where once was only darkness. The Divine Word that has always been, and will endure always, without end. The Glorious Word that shines out, and even if no one sees or receives it… this Word’s brilliance will never fade.
 
The Word of God that took on flesh to dwell with us: our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
 
He is born. And He faced our frailty, our dangers, our sufferings… giving us hope.
 
He is born. And He laid down His life for us at the cross… giving us peace.
 
He is born. And He rose again from the dead… giving us joy.
 
He is born. And He has bound us to the Living God forever… giving us love.
 
He is born. Today, Christ Jesus the Word of God gives us the gift of Himself.
 
And may this Word dwell with us always… filling our hearts and minds, despite the dark words still echoing all around us… filling our lives with the hope, and peace, and joy, and love that only He can give… and may this Word take on our flesh, speaking in our words and acting in our deeds… and making His grace and truth known through all that we do… turning us His people into His gift to bring God’s New Life to the world.
 
May the Word of God, Jesus Christ, dwell with us this Christmas, and always.  And may we receive Him, and believing in Him, become God’s true children, full of His grace and truth… always.

Merry Christmas, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This morning we mark the fourth Sunday of Advent: a season of anticipation and preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, both in His birth at Christmas (which we will celebrate this evening, and for which you can find more At-Home worship resources below), as well as in His future return to reign forever over a renewed creation.

Each week in Advent, we reflect on an important aspect of the Christian life as we wait faithfully for our Saviour, and serve His kingdom even now. The fourth Sunday of Advent, we reflect on the theme of Love.

Here is a great video from the Bible Project exploring how the Holy Scriptures help us to receive & share God's Love.

​Here are some links to the Carols listed in our service, found on Youtube:  ​

Here is a word to help us worship
the Word-of-God-Made-Flesh,
Jesus Christ, who is born this day.

Scripture Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1–13 | Psalm 8 | Revelation 21:1–6a | ​Matthew 25:31–46

“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5).
 
These words from the last book of the Bible offer us all a powerful image of the Christian hope: that the story of all things ends with the Living God upon the throne, and that His reign entails the restoration of all things. At the heart of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, lies the claim that God’s good Kingdom will have the final word, and that, regardless of how dark the present can seem, the Risen Lord will reign forever.
 
But just because we know how the story ends, that doesn’t mean that all the ups and downs and events in the middle of the story, where you and I find ourselves, are unimportant. That what we do with all our days doesn’t really matter to God’s larger story.
 
Rather, as our Scripture readings this morning remind us, each in their own way, understanding the end of our story serves to guide and shape what we do with today, drawing us closer to the life of God here and now, because how we live here and now really does matter.
​
Our first reading this morning comes from the book of Ecclesiastes: a poetic exploration of the meaning of human life, which looks closely at many of the common goals and priorities we people pursue… things like success, pleasure, and knowledge… and makes the case that in the end, everything we chase after is like vapor or smoke… just as we reach out and grasp after them, they  drift right through our fingers and disappear.
 
This may sound bleak, but this ancient wisdom sheds light on the important fact that much of what our world pours its energy into is not of ultimate lasting value… and if we live like success, or pleasure, or comfort, or knowledge are what matter most, our lives will get off track, and out of line with the true story.   
 
So while in our reading, the author of Ecclesiastes speaks of a time for all things, their overall message is one of clarifying our priorities: of putting first things first, which for them means living in line with the Living God. Ecclesiastes ends with these words: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Keeping in mind the One on the throne, live each day following God’s ways.
 
This reminder of just and divine judgement points us to our reading today from the Gospel of Matthew: a powerful depiction of the Son of Man, God’s Messiah, sorting out once and for all, not just His covenant people Israel, but all the nations… bringing into the light what everyone has done with the time given to them.
 
One thing worth noting about this passage is how it cuts through all our present attempts to sort out the good from the bad, the insiders from the outsiders… us and them. Rather than asking if they belong to the ‘right’ group, the ‘right’ movement, or even the so called ‘right’ side of history, the Son of Man alone sorts out the nations, based on the shape of their lives… based on how their choices and actions in life lined up with the character of the Living God.
 
This picture drives home the point that God is not just interested in making our lives easier or better, but of drawing us deeper into God’s eternal life… meant to shape how we live today! Among other things, Christ is offering a warning here to not waste our lives, but to do what we can to live God’s way with whatever time we’re given.
 
Turning now to our second reading from Revelation, we’re given a vision of what God’s New Life is all about: the ultimate union of heaven and earth, accomplished as God’s gracious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord.  
“‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:3-5).
 
This is a beautiful, hopeful, and powerful vision, which also drives home the point that our lives and response to God’s gracious gift truly matters, especially if we keep reading. A few verses later, the author of Revelation makes a very clear connection between those who miss out on this beautiful destiny, and their choices in this life:
 
“Those who conquer [that is, remain faithful to the end] will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8)
 
Again, Scripture offers a pretty strong warning that we need to take with all seriousness. Much more could be said about this passage, but in one sense the message is clear: God’s gracious Kingdom is coming, and so how we live today in the light of the Good News of Jesus really does matter! Our faith in the Gospel of Christ is mean to take shape in our lives here and now.
 
So what might we do to actually help adjust our lives to the light of the Gospel? How can we begin to go from talking about God’s New Life to actually living it?

Of course, today seems like a great time to talk about new beginnings… pursuing new goals, and making new commitments. For many, today marks the start of their New Year’s resolution: starting a new year off trying to make positive changes in our lives, breaking old habits, or taking on new practices.
 
There can be lots of good things about New Year’s resolutions, inspiring us not to simply keep going with the flow (unless that’s what you’re trying to start doing, of course), but to be intentional with our time on this earth, and to make even difficult changes that we believe will be worth while in the end.
 
But rather than just recommending that we all make New Year’s resolutions to try to be more faithful to God’s ways this year, I’d rather invite us to take up a Rule of Life.
 
What’s a Rule of Life?
 In a word, a Rule of Life is an intentional set of guidelines people adopt to help keep them focused on and following a particular pattern and way of life. They can be simple. They can be detailed. They can be adjusted over time. But their intention is to help keep those who make use of them in line with what matters most.
 
Now, lots of people create and make Rules of Life, not just Christians. But Christians have made use of these practices for centuries, and they have deep roots in our own Anglican tradition.
 
But before we get too far off track, I want to point out one key difference between a New Year’s resolution and a Christian Rule of Life:
 
A resolution is basically a personal attempt to become the kind of person that I want to be. It’s inherently self-focused, and self-imposed. Not necessarily selfish in its goal… but in its process. That is, the only reason to take up a resolution is because I want to change the course of my life. I have a goal I want to pursue. My will is at the centre.
 
A Rule of Life, on the other hand, is an intentional attempt to realign my life… not around my goals, but with the Living God and His will for me, and for His work in the world. It’s an attempt to respond faithfully to what God has already done by adjusting my actions and priorities to help me to follow Jesus. It is not me focused, it’s Christ focused… seeking to draw me closer to, and become more like our Saviour, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
 
So, at the heart of a Christian Rule of Life is an attitude of openness to God: of humility, and trust, and the desire to be obedient to God’s will.
 
But let’s be clear: this is not at all an attempt to earn God’s favour, or our own salvation. The Gospel tells us that God loved us even when we least deserved it, and sent Christ to rescue us from our sins as a gift… as a gracious and self-giving act of mercy.
 
We don’t need to adopt a Rule of Life to get into God’s good books, or receive eternal life. These are God’s gifts to us in Jesus Christ. But if we want to receive these precious gifts, and practice them in our day to day lives, a Christian Rule of Life can be a very helpful aid… making it easier to develop good habits that reinforce our faith, habits that might seem new or strange at first, but then soon become second nature.

And as I mentioned before, this practice has deep roots in the Christian Church, and in our own Anglican tradition, where creating a Rule of Life was at one time seen as an important part of everyone’s spiritual growth.
 
The following is taken from our own Book of Common Prayer on page 555.  
 
“Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself a RULE OF LIFE in accordance with the precepts of the Gospel and the faith and order of the Church; wherein he may consider the following:
 
The regularity of his attendance at public worship and especially at the holy Communion.
 
The practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
 
Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into his everyday life.
 
The boldness of his spoken witness to his faith in Christ.
His personal service to the Church and community.
 
The offering of money according to his means for the support of the work of the Church at home and overseas.”
 
This is just a basic framework, but it invites all Christians to take seriously the several ways our faith is taking shape in our daily lives, and what we might need to do to support it even more.
 
The BCP envisions every Christian doing this individually “from time to time”. But to be honest, creating and committing to a Rule of Life on our own can be really challenging. And just like with New Year’s resolutions, they can be easily set aside without the gift of a community of others on the same journey… who
can support one another by sharing a way of life, instead of doing it all alone.
 
In essence, that was how many monastic communities began: with someone deeply committed to following God’s will in a particular context, adjusting their life accordingly, and inviting others to share in their efforts. People from the ancient days of the Church, like St. Benedict of Norcia, St. Basil, and St. Augustine, all created rules that were picked up by whole monastic communities and orders, guiding the shared lives of nuns and monks for centuries.
 
In more recent times, Brother Roger of Taizé created a Rule of Life for the 20th Century monastic community he helped found in France, which is made up of Christians from very different traditions… Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox, all living together despite their significant differences in order to live as a sign to the wider Church and world that God’s reconciliation is at work here and now.
 
Their Rule of Life is very different from St. Benedict’s, or St. Basil’s, but it’s one that helps them in their context keep their lives in line with the Gospel, and with Christ’s particular calling as a community.
 
Here at St. Luke’s, we don’t have a common Rule of Life. But this year, we created a Mission Vision Group that has spent time together exploring what it means for us to share in God’s mission here in Gondola Point. And a part of that work has been to consider a Parish Vision Statement: a simple guide to keep us focused on where we believe God’s calling us to go.  
 
More will be said about this ahead of our upcoming Annual Meeting, but we are proposing the following as our new Vision Statement: Living Faith | Growing Love | Sharing Hope.
 
While not exactly a Rule of Life, this Vision Statement, or similar guides, can help keep whole communities like ours from getting off track, or distracted from what matters most.
 
Speaking of staying on track…
So, what does it look like to create a Rule of Life today?
 
Well, it all starts with looking to Jesus. With remembering all that God has done and is doing through Him; that He is Himself the gift that saves us, and that alone we do nothing to earn God’s favour. We need to remember that In Christ we know that the Living God longs for us to receive His rescuing love, and share His New Life here and now.

Then, in response to this Good News, we need to honestly look at our current life with God… where we’re starting from, so to speak.
 
We can use the structure given in the Book of Common Prayer as a basic guide: inviting us to reflect on… 
 
Our participation in public worship.
 
Our practice of private prayer, reading Scripture, and cultivating self-control.
 
It can hep us ask ourselves: How does my life line up with what Jesus shows us about God’s ways?
 
Where am I afraid to follow Jesus’ way today?
 
How can I take part in Christ’s kingdom work, in the Church and everywhere else?
 
How am I able to offer my money to support the work of God, here and around the world?
 
Finally, we can prayerfully ask God to help us identify how we can draw closer to Him in our daily life, and what the next steps may be on this journey.
 
Don’t start off by aiming for the finish line, but for the next step or the next leg of the journey… start with choices or actions we can take that actually help us be more open to God’s love, and His saving work in and through us.
 
We may find this easy to do alone. Or we may find it helpful to do along with someone else, sharing a simple Rule of Life, to support each other.
 
Maybe we try this with those in our household, or with a close friend… or a small group we’re a part of, like the ACW, or Choir, or Book Club, etc.
 
But whether we do this alone, or with others, the point isn’t to become focused on following rules, but to intentionally keep our eyes on Jesus and God’s saving love, so that we can faithfully follow our Saviour the Risen Lord of all… which is what really matters most. Amen.
 

May this coming year be blessed, and draw us all deeper into the fellowship of God's eternal family.

Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon this week can be found here:

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 52:7–10 | Psalm 98 | Hebrews 1:1–12 | John 1:1–14

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
 
What do you want for Christmas?
What gifts are we looking for today?
 
Setting aside all of the stuff we can find in stores… or shop for online… all the presents that we can wrap up and put under a tree, or into stockings… what is it that you and I and our neighbours are truly longing for today? If we could have anything, anything at all, what would we ask for?
 
For a deep sense of community? For friendship, and fellowship? To be truly known, and still truly welcomed.
For happiness? Fulfillment? To feel completely free from drudgery or despair?
 
Maybe for stability? For healing, and wholeness… both in ourselves, and our relationships. For a bright future, for ourselves, our loved ones, and our world… or even just a light to guide us through a dark season of life?
 
What do we really want for Christmas?
What are we longing for today?
 
What if the gift that we need most of all has already been given? What if it’s just waiting to be remembered… and received for all that it has to offer?
 
The whole story of the Holy Scriptures tells of God’s gracious generosity… of His strong desire to bless and bring beauty and abundant life to His beloved Creation. And when we humans chose to cling to the darkness instead of embracing His light again and again, the Bible recounts how our Heavenly Father faithfully continues to give us far more than we could ever ask for or deserve.
 
Giving us Hope, not just for eternity, but for today too… offering us the courage to carry on, knowing that even when we walk through the darkest valleys… even through the shadow of death, we need not be afraid for we are not alone… the God of life walks with us.
 
He gives us His Peace which goes beyond all understanding, bringing our shattered lives together again… so we can take part together in the harmony God has in store for heaven and earth.
 
He gives us Joy, knowing that all our world’s many sorrows have been bourn by our mighty Saviour, who will not rest until every tear has been wiped away, and all the world has been made new.
 
And He gives us His Love, reaching out to embrace us all, even when our hard hearts had turned Him away… a love that led Christ Jesus to the cross, dying to bring us true life… a love that proved even stronger than death, as Christ Jesus was raised again from the grave, to share in His Father’s glory, and share His own resurrection life with us.
  
All that we truly need… all that our hearts yearn for has already been given: Christ Jesus is God’s great gift to us: heaven and earth all wrapped up in the body of a little babe, laid in a manger long ago, to bring us into God’s light.
 
This Chosen One, who is the Word of God, who from the beginning was with God, and was God, became one of us… became one with us… taking on our frail humanity, our flesh and blood… becoming a human child, given to all, so that all who believe in Him might become God’s children too. That in Him, we too might be filled with the Hope, and Peace, and Joy, and Love that Jesus has always shared with His Heavenly Father, and with the Holy Spirit.
 
In the gift of Jesus, the Christ child born this day, God gives us Himself. All that the Living God is has been shared with us in His Son… in Emmanuel, God-with-us.
 
What else could we want than what God gives to us today? To share in the divine life of the Trinity, the source and Creator of all Hope, and Peace, and Joy, and Love… not only on some distant day, but now, today? To glimpse now the glory, and grace, and truth of the LORD, and to live even now in His light?
 
Jesus Himself is the gift we all need today… those gathered here at St. Luke’s, and those who will never darken our doors.
So may we receive all that God gives us in Him, and may His gracious light shine through us so that all those in our lives might come to receive Him too.  
 
I’ll end now with a sonnet by the Rev. Malcolm Guite:[1]

O Emmanuel
 
O come, O come and be our God-with-us,
O long-sought with-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name,
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness,
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.

Amen, and Merry Christmas.​



[1] Malcolm Guite, Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year (Norwich, UK: Canterbury Press, 2012), 13.

Our service of Lessons & Carols and Bulletin can be found here:

Here are some links to the Carols listed in our service, found on Youtube:  

Our Gospel Reading for today is from the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. There is a whole lot to unpack in this passage.

If you would like to explore it a bit more, check out this great Visual Commentary video from the Bible Project: 

Scripture Readings: 1 Samuel 2:18–20, 26 | Psalm 148 | Colossians 3:12–17 | Luke 2:41–52 

“He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’” (Luke 2:49).
 
Merry Christmas!
That’s one of the things that I love about churches like ours that follow the Christian calendar: Christmas is not just one day, it’s a season of 12 days!
 
And on this first Sunday of the Christmas season we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: giving thanks for the common life that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph shared together… as God raises up a humble human household to participate in His plan to redeem the world, and draw all peoples into His heavenly family.
 
We don’t have that many stories of the family life of Jesus, and our Gospel reading this morning gives us the only one we have from when our Lord was a child… and it’s kind of a strange episode: the holy family makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When Mary and Joseph leave with the rest of the pilgrims, Jesus stays behind in the Temple.  His parents eventually notice He’s missing, and desperately search for Him for three days. But when they find Him, Jesus does not respond as we might expect. He’s not worried, even though He had been left alone for all that time. And He’s not contrite either, seemingly unconcerned by His parent’s feelings, or their expectations of Him as their son. Instead, He seems confused that they didn’t know where to look for Him. That they didn’t know that He would be caught up in what was happening in His Father’s house.
 
It’s an odd part of His story, but Luke shares it with us because he wants us to understand something about this boy and what He’s all about. And interestingly enough, it might help us if we reflect on the story of another young boy from Israel’s early days: the story of Samuel, which we heard briefly in our Old Testament reading this morning.
 
Samuel was born before Israel had any kings. When they were supposed to be guided by Israel’s priesthood, but time and again we’re told that the people kept turning away from God’s ways, and would “do what was right in their own eyes”, which kept leading them to disaster.
 
In our reading we catch a glimpse of the boy Samuel, being raised by Eli, the priest, who served with His sons in the Tabernacle: the sacred Tent where sacrifices to the LORD God were made, and where, before the Temple was built, God’s presence dwelt with His people.
 
Samuel had been dedicated by his mother to the LORD because the LORD had answered her prayer and had given her a son. Samuel served God faithfully even as a child. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Eli’s own sons, who blatantly disgraced the priesthood, and took advantage of those who came to worship God. Our lectionary skips this part of the story, but we are supposed to see this huge contrast between the boy Samuel and Israel’s unfaithful leaders: 1 Samuel 2:22-25.
 
“Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord; but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make intercession?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father; for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.”
 
The early chapters of Samuel’s story play out this turn of events: the downfall of the corrupt leaders of God’s people, alongside the rise of a faithful miracle-child who serves by helping God’s people to turn back to their LORD. Through this boy Samuel, who from birth had been caught up in the work of the LORD, the Living God was drawing His scattered people back to Himself, so that they all might walk in the ways of His holy love.
 
Returning now to Luke’s Gospel with the story of Samuel in mind, this strange story of Jesus as a boy in the Temple starts to take on a whole other dimension.
 
The picture we’re given is that this young boy is completely caught up in the things of God… completely at home in the House of the LORD, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46-47).
 
Unlike Samuel, Jesus, had grown up far from Jerusalem, and the Temple, but as we know Jesus Himself was the ultimate miracle child… conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary… and more than that, as John’s Gospel tells us, this child is God incarnate… God in human flesh… this boy is Himself the meeting place of Heaven and Earth, God’s dwelling among us… the reality that the Temple and Tabernacle pointed to.
 
And like Samuel, Jesus was growing up at a time when Israel’s leaders, and in particular it’s priesthood had become corrupt, failing to serve the LORD or His people faithfully. The rise of Jesus, for Luke, will coincide with the failure and fall of the faithless guides of God’s people, who constantly clash with our Lord in later days, and who will lead the conspiracy that brings Christ to the cross.
 
But again, we know that there’s more going on at the cross than meets the eye. It was the way that Jesus broke the power of death, and freed us from the grip of sin… opening up the way of God’s New Life when after being lost to us for three days, Jesus rose again from the grave.
 
And again, like Samuel, Luke wants us to see that Jesus, even as a young boy, is the one through whom the Living God Himself is at work rescuing His people, returning their hearts to Him, so that we might walk in His holy ways. In Jesus, the Living God has come and dwells among us to draw us to Himself… to reconcile us, and restore us as His faithful people… to make us, to make you and I, a kingdom of priests, and holy nation, a faithful family, together with our sisters and brothers from every nation, walking together in the holy love of the Lord forever.
 
We live in a time when we’re all encouraged to just “do what’s right in our own eyes”, but Christ has come to open up for us the way to God’s New Life: so that we too might be caught up in what God is up to… living today as God’s faithful family, sharing in His holy love.
 
In our New Testament reading today, St. Paul tells us what this looks like in practice. Let’s listen again, and let the message really sink in:
 
“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
 
It can be easy to think of Christmas as a story of the promised child, and the holy family gathered serenely around the manger. But our Scriptures today remind us that this promised child has a clear purpose: to bring about the restoration of Israel, and all nations… to draw all peoples everywhere into the family of God… to offer His life on the cross as the sacrifice to deal with all our sins, and set us free to truly be God’s faithful children forever.  
 
As Christians, we have been adopted into the family of God, sharing in the New Life of Jesus Christ through His Spirit at work in us. So, this Christmas season, may we remember that Christ was born into our human family, so that in Him, all of us might live even today as God’s faithful children. Amen.
 
 

Merry Christmas! Today, the first Sunday of the Christmas season, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: giving thanks for the shared life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and that God has given us His Son so we might become His children.

It is a beautiful message of the Church that God has chosen to work through human families, as broken and messed up as they can be at times, to bring about His rescue mission for the entire world. 

Here is a surprisingly beautiful song based on the family tree of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew by the band Poor Bishop Hooper entitled Christ. 

​Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon can be found here:

And our Songs can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 62:6–12 | Psalm 97 | Titus 3:4–7 | Luke 2:1–20

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—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.” (Luke 2:10-11).
 
Merry Christmas. Today’s the day.
All throughout the season of Advent, and for some of us, even longer, we have been looking forward to today with building anticipation. The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord, and all that His birth means for our lives and for our world.
 
But I know if we’re being honest, this Christmas has also been really challenging. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic, with cases in our region rising rapidly… making it almost impossible to celebrate in the ways we long to. All of us are facing a great deal of uncertainty as we try to do our part to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and neighbours… having to make major changes to our everyday lives, not to mention our treasured traditions. Though we still have lots to celebrate today, far more than we likely imagine, it’s safe to say this isn’t the kind of Christmas season that we would have planned.

But honestly, Christmas has been that way since the very beginning: a surprising celebration that none of us would have planned.
 
Take Joseph and Mary: First came the life-changing visits from the Angel Gabriel, telling them that Mary was going to give birth to God’s Messiah, the Christ. But then, just as the baby was about to be born, the Emperor, off in faraway Rome, decides to call for a census and suddenly they have to make the journey to Bethlehem.
 
I’m sure they would rather have stayed at home in Nazareth surrounded by family and friends. And they would never have planned to stay in a stable on the night that Mary was to give birth to her firstborn child.
 
And what about the shepherds?
They had no clue about the promised child… they had their hands full enough with the business of daily life… with simply making a modest living, which was getting harder and harder to do.
 
The shepherds were completely caught off guard by the angels and heavenly choir… but were compelled to drop everything and run to Bethlehem to see this ‘Good News for all people’ the angels spoke of with their own eyes.
 
But even though Mary and Joseph and the shepherds would never have planned it that way… even though it all seemed like chaos, inconvenience, and surprise, that first Christmas was the work of the wonderful plans of the Living God.    
 
God planned for the promised child to be born in Bethlehem, in King David’s city, to bring hope to His oppressed people, fulfilling His promises and telling them that their Saviour King had come at last.
 
And God planned for His Son to be born among those who have no place… among those who are refused welcome… among the outsiders, and all those in need. The Prince of Peace was born as one who is poor, who would Himself know rejection and need, that He might lift up the lowly, and redeem all who place their hope in Him.
 
God planned for the Good News of the birth of the Messiah to be shared first with those whose lives had lost almost all sense of joy. To those ground down by the weight of the world, the LORD gave a glimpse of heavenly beauty, music, and light… lifting their hearts to share in a vision of life beyond anything they could imagine.
 
And God planned for these humble shepherds to be drawn near to Mary and Joseph. To come together with those who had once been strangers and share in this gift of God’s love for our world… that they might then go and share this Good News with everyone else as well.
 
Today we can celebrate even in the midst of our struggles, our disappointments, and our fears, because we remember that the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ came about through the wonderful plans of the Living God, who shares His love with our lonely world… who shines His healing light in the midst of the deepest darkness… and announces Good News of great joy especially when we need it most.

Jesus Christ is born! The Living God is with us! May we rejoice and celebrate this wonderful truth today. Amen.