Christmas Day 2011 John 3:31-36
Rev. Andrew Purves, Ph.D.
My name was John, son of Zechariah, although people came to know me better by my nickname, John the Baptist. I liked that because it indicated that people knew what I was about. It meant they understood my call from God. From my earliest days I remember feeling that God had laid a claim on my life. It was like God’s hand lay heavily upon me; I could not shake it. Only slowly did I understand what I was called to do. I was to be the forerunner, the announcer, of a really huge, world-changing thing that God was about to do. God, it seemed to me, was about do something after which the world would never be the same again. It was my job to prepare people for this, to get them to a point of spiritual readiness. God was about to be on the move in a wholly new way, and I, John, was in some way to be part of it. It came to me that I was to say what old Isaiah of Jerusalem had said already some 600 years ago: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord” (40.3). Read more…
Christmas Eve December 24, 2011 Isaiah 9: 2-7 Luke 2: 1-14
Rev. Catherine Purves
There is a lot of irony abroad on this night of nights. That might not be a word you would use to describe Christmas Eve, but I find it somehow ironic that we speak of this as a sacred night, and the birth that we have gathered to celebrate is a holy birth. We have come together in this place of light, this sacred space, to sing and pray and share holy food at the Lord’s Table. We have left the dark and dangerous streets of the secular world, where sin reigns and where God is little thought of, and we have retreated to this place of safety and hope and peace. For just this brief time on this holy night we will have joyfully embraced all that is sacred, separating ourselves from all that is secular. Read more…
December 18, 2011 Luke 1: 26-38
Rev. Catherine Purves
How can this be? There are different ways to ask this question. All of us have asked it in one way or another when confronted with this story of the miraculous conception of Jesus. One could ask the question skeptically with an edge that seems to deny the possibility of such a thing. How can this be? Or one could ask the question as an open expression of wonder and curiosity that seeks to draw nearer to a mystery. How can this be? Or one could ask the question in such a way that belief is already growing, and the deeper nature of the revelation is being probed. How can this be? What does it mean? That last way of asking the question about the baby to be born quickly transforms into another question about the baby: Who can this be? This story of Mary’s encounter with the messenger angel, Gabriel, is gospel because it begins to answer that question, Who can this be? What is the true identity and nature of the child that Mary will carry, the child whose birth we await, the child sent by God to save us? Read more…
December 11, 2011 Psalm 126 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24
Rev. Catherine Purves
Life is like a roller coaster ride. That is not a profound statement. I think it is a rather obvious truth. The ups and downs of life are inevitable. Some of the ups can pierce the stratosphere. Some of the downs are Death Valley down. This is not just true for you. It is true for all of those other people who appear to have it made. The rich, the famous, those who look like they are living charmed lives – they all have their downs when the roller coaster has them plummeting at breathtaking speeds. And the poor, the downtrodden, those who look to be without hope – they all have their ups when the roller coaster lifts them to unexpected heights where they can see surprising blessings and be thankful. Life is like a roller coaster ride for everyone. The ups can be dizzying. The downs can be deadening. In the face of this reality, our Scripture readings for this 3rd Sunday of Advent command us to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” How are we to do that when we are stuck on a roller coaster ride that both terrifies and thrills us? Read more…
December 4, 2011 Isaiah 40: 1-11 Mark 1: 1-8
Rev. Catherine Purves
We have just read two passages from the Bible. One speaks about events that were unfolding in the time of Isaiah in 540 B.C. The other speaks of the arrival of Jesus on the stage of history in around 30 A.D. Isaiah lived at the time of the Babylonian exile when Persia was on the verge of defeating Babylon and Cyrus was poised to allow the exiles to return to Israel, their homeland. The Gospel of Mark, the first Gospel to be written, begins with Isaiah’s ancient prophesy and interprets it as pointing toward the proclamation of John the Baptist, who is presented as the herald of Jesus Christ. Read more…
November 27 2011 Isaiah 64: 1-9 Mark 13: 24-37
Rev. Catherine Purves
Every week has a Sunday. Every year has an Advent. Christ the King Sunday, which was last week, marked the end of the Christian year. And now we begin again with the first Sunday in Advent. Around and around it goes. The years roll on, and we repeat again and again the seasons of our faith. The pattern is so routine as to be second nature to us. And it could easily lull us into an unexpectant doze, as if all of our marking of time on these special days and seasons only serves to remind us repeatedly of the past. This is our history, our faith heritage. We remember the sacred seasons and comfortably settle ourselves in the security of the events of salvation: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost. Read more…
November 20, 2011 Matthew 25: 31-46
Rev. Catherine Purves
You know those jokes that pose the question, “What happens when you combine (for example) a marine biologist and a school teacher, or a policeman and a lumberjack. Then some strange composite answer is given. A marine biologist and a school teacher might result in a fishy homework assignment, or a policeman and a lumberjack might produce a cop with an axe to grind. I’m obviously not very good at this kind of humor, but you get the idea. Two or more mismatched types of people are combined to create an unexpected third possibility. What happens when… – the question is put to you, and you are supposed to try to imagine such an unlikely combination. Read more…
November 13, 2011 Matthew 25: 14-30
Rev. Catherine Purves
The problem with this parable is that we tend to read it back to front. By that I mean that we allow the last words to color everything that went before them. We are then always left with the bitter aftertaste of that final damning proclamation, “As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Even if we try to follow the story beginning to end, we seem to rush over the carefully constructed outline of what is a complicated parable and target that judgmental conclusion. It becomes, then, purely a parable of judgment. And it has long been used as such to strike terror in the hearts of vulnerable parishioners in stewardship season, because they know that they have not used the gifts entrusted to them to the utmost. And they are most certainly aware that they have not laid everything at the feet of Jesus, as the two eager and successful slaves in the parable have done. All we can hear are those threatening words of final judgment, “As for this worthless slave…” and we fear that Jesus is speaking those words to us. Read more…
November 6, 2011 Matthew 25: 1-13
Rev. Catherine Purves
In the Middle East, even to this day, weddings are hugely elaborate affairs with many layers of customs and expectations. One aspect of an Eastern wedding that would drive a modern wedding planner or a meticulous bride crazy was the fact that the timing of everything was quite fluid. Things happened when they happened. There was often a lot of waiting involved. Read more…
October 30, 2011 All Saints Revelation 7: 9-17
Rev. Catherine Purves
Whenever it is announced that the reading for the day is taken from the book of Revelation there will be a reaction. Some people will perk right up and their eyes will shine with the anticipation of weird and wonderful mysteries about to be explored. Others will seem to physically diminish, and with darting eyes seek the nearest exit, because of the weird and wonderful mysteries about to be explored. Both reactions are unwarranted. Read more…
