The story of the magi coming to visit Jesus and his family, the story of Epiphany, is one of the most beloved parts of the Christmas story. Today we re-imagine that story and wonder how those who search for truth might be changed forever by what they find in Jesus. This worship service includes Communion […]
The pinnacle of the Christmas story is when the angels sing throughout the heavens: Glory to God and peace to all humankind! Today we sing the carols once more and hear the words of the prophets, the story of Jesus’ birth, and the cosmic plan of God to redeem, reconcile and heal the entire world. […]
Love magnifies the beloved. It notices the unnoticed. It heralds the unheralded. It calls down blessings on what has been ignored and overlooked. Love is a cherishing attention that requires our whole hearts and our whole selves. This worship service includes Communion as an extension of the table at St. Peter’s on Sunday, December 22, […]
Joy is a time traveler: it catches God’s future vision for justice, peace, and restoration and superimposes it on the present landscape. Joy celebrates the future as if it’s already happening while getting down to work to make it a reality. It can coexist alongside sorrow and pain and ebbs and flows in our lives […]
Sometimes we settle for peace as the absence of violence or tension. John the Baptist and other prophets call us to a more robust peace: one that brings safety, refuge, and rest to the vulnerable. Peace enacts justice, and it requires the hard work of constructing new roads through the wilderness. This worship service includes […]
Hope is often defined as “positive thinking” or optimism. But viewed through the lens of the cross, hope becomes an agent of empowering transformation. It does not deny suffering. Hope acknowledges that the present conditions are desperate, and it depends on God, with whom nothing is impossible. Hope is both honest about suffering and urgent […]
We often define justice as people getting what they deserve, but as king, Jesus shows us a kind of justice that is more interested in what is necessary and loving than in what is fair. Jesus’ justice is ridiculously unbalanced: the Human One takes all of the hits, and humanity gets all of the benefits. […]
“Just have a little faith!” Our culture often frames faith as something we can force into existence by sheer willpower. On the other hand, the words of a much-loved hymn point to God’s faith: “Great is thy faithfulness!” God shows up for us in baptismal waters, in bread and cup, in the word proclaimed, and […]
Care is often conflated with love. But care is characterized by devotion, consistency, attention to detail, and some sense of obligation. It may require specialized skills, or it may just require time. Either way, care requires consistent investment—attention provided over the long haul. Scripture is full of examples of God’s care for us, especially in […]
Grace, love, and warm fuzzies. Wait…what’s wrong with that? Today for Reformation Sunday we celebrate God’s amazing grace, but we also remember that God will not be controlled by our whims, desires or emotions. Christ is not waiting on the sidelines to step in as our backup. Even when life reminds us (painfully) that we […]