Luke 2:1-20John 1:1-18Luke 2:22-40 Dear Partner, I’m going to offer just a few sentences on each of the three preaching occasions this week – Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the 1st Sunday of Christmas. All are offered in the context of what a different, strange, and difficult Christmas it will be, attended by losses small and large, and yet they are also offered in the confidence that it is still Christmas and there is still much over which to rejoice. Christmas Eve While so incredibly familiar to us, Luke’s nativity story has the capacity not just to sound different in light of our present circumstances but also...

Luke 12:32-40 Dear Partner in Preaching, It’s late in the week, and I’m again pressed for time, so I will offer just a few thoughts on this Sunday’s passage. First and foremost: Jesus’ words “Do not be afraid, little flock,” seem like a tall order just now. Global warming. Racial divides. Instability in governments around the globe. Trade wars and rumors of wars. Lots to fear, it would seem, made worse by the fact that there are lots of people eager to play upon our fears and lots of channels for them to do so through. And then come the commands: Sell your possessions. Give alms. Store your treasure in heaven. Be...

Luke 21:25-36 Dear Working Preacher, Let me venture an assertion. It is, unfortunately, not a new assertion, but important to reiterate nonetheless: the greatest challenge we face today is not war, or economic inequity, or community unrest, or prejudice, or division, but fear. Why? Because fear is at the root of all these other things I just mentioned. Think about it. From Pharaoh in the first chapter of Exodus (v. 8-10) to today’s despots, fear is the means by which we turn those who are in some fashion different from us into an enemy, a people against whom we should war. Fear causes us to horde, assuming we will never have enough and...

Mark 4:35-41 Dear Partner in Preaching, What moves us from fear to faith? Hold that question for a moment; we’ll come back to it. For now, though, notice with me how similar what we perceive as very distinct responses actually are. Or at least their roots. Think about it. Both fear and faith make sense only in relation to something that is unknown, challenging, difficult, or threatening. I mean, it’s just those kinds of things that make us afraid. And, when you stop to think about it, it’s just those same kinds of things that summon faith to face them. Indeed, in the face of things that are unknown, challenging, difficult, or...

Mark 1:9-15 Dear Partner in Preaching, There is a whole lot going on in this Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark. That may be easy to miss, because we’ve touched on various parts of Mark’s first chapters several times already in Advent and Epiphany. But where Matthew and Luke, by contrast, give distinct and rich descriptions of Jesus’ baptism, his temptation, and the beginning of his ministry, Mark compresses all these events into just a few short verses. And while we may simply assume this is Mark’s Dragnet-like style – “Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts.” – I think there may be more at work. Perhaps, that is, baptism,...