Matthew 3:13-17 The person we know as John the Baptist was born to a family with a rich priestly lineage. His father, Zechariah was a priest who served in the Temple, and his mother’s genealogy could be traced back to Aaron, who was the brother of Moses and the original priest of the Jewish priesthood. So, the assumption was that John would grow up to follow in his parent’s footsteps. But John had other plans. Or, you could say, God…
John 1:1-20 From the most ancient myths about the world’s beginnings to the Big Bang Theory, people have always craved explanations for how the universe functions. Especially when the universe presents us with what seem to be paradoxes. That same quest for truth concerning whatever boggles the human mind is reflected in the approaches taken by the Gospels with regards to Jesus. The Christmas stories tell us that the child born to Mary was both truly God and truly human.…
Luke 2:22-40 Appearances can be misleading. Case in point, a 400-year-old painting on wood of John the Baptist. The painting, which was housed in the Bowes Museum in England, had suffered some deterioration. Before a plan for restorative work could be begun, x-rays were taken to determine the extent of the damage to the wood beneath the paint. What was discovered has been called a “Christmas miracle.” The x-rays revealed another painting that no one knew was there because it…
By the time this edition of the Epistle goes to print, we should have reached the 30-day countdown to the departure date for the “In the Footsteps of Jesus” pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On February 3, fourteen people from our church will be joining eleven fellow pilgrims from churches outside Massachusetts to begin the journey to Israel. Our itinerary includes visits to places like Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional location of the feeding…
Advent is the most impatient of seasons. We can’t wait to put up the Christmas decorations and then can’t wait to take them back down. We can’t wait for the gift shopping to be over with at the same time that we can’t wait to see what’s waiting for us under the tree. The impatience of Advent is felt, even in church, where we can’t wait to sing the Christmas carols that have been playing in stores and on the…
Thanksgiving falls on November 28th this year, which is the latest it can possibly be, since it is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month. This might seem like a bit of useless trivia, but the truth is that it has important repercussions. For one thing, it means that the Advent Workshop, which usually takes place on the night of the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and prior to Advent, had to be moved to a Saturday night. That’s…
