Irreverently Reverend

  First Sunday of Christmas/New Year's Eve When the time came for their ritual cleansing, in accordance with the Law from Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (23 It’s written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord.”) 24 They offered a sacrifice in keeping with what’s stated in the Law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. 25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. 28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,   29 “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, 30    ...

  Advent II In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be call...

  Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  2  through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  3  And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance,  4  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  5  and hope does not put us to shame , because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (NRSVUE)             It is a strange thing—and it was not my intention—that my first sermon and my last at St. Luke’s both come from Paul’s letter to the Romans.   This is what comes of keeping to the lectionary; it is fairly consistent in its connecting patterns.           Romans, whil...

  Second Sunday of Advent In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,  2  during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  3  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  4  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,     make his paths straight. 5  Every valley shall be filled,     and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight,     and the rough places shal...