“And that Jesus is named as part of the rite of circumcision is significant. It reminds us of a very particular set of circumstances: I am who I am saves by being born into an oppressed religious minority, under the boot of foreign occupation, to a modest family in a small town on the hinterlands of the Empire.”
“This night holds so much light and darkness, joy and grief, welcome and loss, hope and despair, dreams realized and dreams lost, and on this night and in the year to come through it all you hold us, ushering us into a new year
where your presence, grace, and love, forgiveness, and redemption never wavers.”
“Let’s catch up. There was Christmas, the Feasts of St. Stephan and St. John, the horror of Holy Innocents, (not over yet. Think U.S./Mexican border), and we have Circumcision and Epiphany yet to go. But now it is just plain “Saint” Monday. Let’s look at 1 Kings 17:17-24 and John 4:46-54. They are both healings. The first by Elijah, the second by Jesus.”
“It is here on earth, in this world of corruption, evil, sorrow and darkness, that Christ meets us and claims us. When we receive him — when we see everything that exists in the light of a transformative love — we become children not of the desires and needs of the ego but of God.”
“God, bless the children. Comfort and keep them wherever they are and whatever their circumstances. Help those of us who could help find the way to do so quickly, before they have to suffer more than they already have. Change the hearts and minds of those who not only order such punishment on the innocents but who think it’s the best solution to whatever problem they think exists.”
“The oplatek tradition may have made its way into our family because of my parents and grandparents, but I am developing a love of it for how it gives us all the task of considering the blessings we hope for others. From those who seem to be in authority, down to the children we often perceive to be mostly recipients of what we provide, we all need each other’s thoughtful blessing.”
“As we struggle to make our way in this world, may we remember that, if we are to remain true to our calling as Christians, we are called to testify to the light of God —to testify to it, to amplify it, to embody it, to nurture it, to be guided by it—to sing that light out as gratefully and whole-heartedly as the songbirds.”
“The light of Christ is reflected in the faces of Mary and Joseph, and the band of shepherds, in adoration, one and all.”
“One day when Zechariah was on the rota to serve in the inner court at the altar of incense, and he was alone, the people praying outside, an angel appeared to him and terrified him. “Do not be afraid.” A statement which is meant to calm, but also a statement that God is present in this angelic messenger, and that is terrifying. And the angel told him many things, this angel who was Gabriel who stands in the presence of God.”
“For Paul, Jesus is the fulfillment of centuries of longing. He is the embodiment of the fulfillment of scripture. In the ways the world has of seeing, he is the son of David. From the point of view of the “spirit of holiness” he is the Son of God.”
All Content © 2017 Episcopal Café
