Sunday, November 23, 2008
Christ the King
Ezekiel 34:11-16; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46
On this final Sunday of the church year our gospel is Jesus' great story of judgment. In the end, the faithful are those who served Christ by ministering to those who are poor, hungry, naked, sick, or estranged. In the first reading God is the shepherd who seeks the lost, weak, and injured and feeds them with justice. We gather this day to celebrate the reign of Christ and his victory over death, yet awaiting the consummation of all things yet to come. Acknowledging Christ as our merciful ruler, we go forth that his reign may be known in our loving words and deeds.

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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Day of Thanksgiving (U.S.A.)
Deuteronomy 8:7-18; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19
At harvest time we join the psalmist in offering thanksgiving to God: "You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty." We are grateful for the abundance of the good things of God's creation. Paul reminds us that our thanksgiving overflows into generosity. As the body of Christ in the world, we give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.

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Sunday, November 30, 2008
First Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 64:1-9; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
Stir up your power, and come! The psalmist’s plea in Psalm 80:2 has become familiar to us in the Advent prayers. Isaiah wants God to rip the heavens open. Both cry out for an apparently distant, angry God to show up, to save, to restore. When we hear Jesus describing the coming of the Son of Man with stars falling from heaven, it can sound dire and horrible, not like anything we would ever hope for. But when we really look at the suffering of people God loves, we can share the hope that God would tear open the heavens and come.

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Sunday, December 7, 2008
Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40:1–11, Psalm 85:1–2, 8–13, 2 Peter 3:8–15a, Mark 1:1–8
John called people to repent, to clear the decks, to completely reorder their lives so that nothing would get in the way of the Lord's coming. The reading from Isaiah gives the context for this radical call: the assurance of forgiveness that encourages us to repent; the promise that the coming one will be gentle with the little ones. Isaiah calls us all to be heralds with John, to lift up our voices fearlessly and say, "See, your God is coming!" We say it to one another in worship, in order to say it with our lives in a world in need of justice and peace.

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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Third Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11, Psalm 126, 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24, John 1:6–8, 19–28
“Rejoice always,” begins the reading from First Thessalonians. Isaiah and the psalmist make clear that God is turning our mourning into laughter and shouts of joy. “All God’s children got a robe,” go the words of the spiritual. It is not so much a stately, formal, pressed outfit as it is a set of party clothes, clothes that make us feel happy just to put on. We receive that robe in baptism, and in worship we gather for a foretaste of God’s party.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Advent
2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16, Psalm: Luke 1:47–55 Romans 16:25–27, Luke 1:26–38
God keeps the promise made to David, to give him an everlasting throne. The angel tells Mary that God will give David's throne to her son Jesus. She is perplexed by Gabriel's greeting and by the news of her coming pregnancy, but she is able still to say, "Count me in." We who know that Jesus is called king only as he is executed still find it a mystery hard to fathom, but with Mary today we hear the news of what God is up to and say, "Count us in."

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Thursday, December 25, 2008
Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day
Isaiah 52:7–10, Psalm 98, Hebrews 1:1–12 John 1:1–14 On this Christmas morning the people of God gather to celebrate the birth of the Word made flesh, Christ our Lord. John’s Gospel tells of the Word that dwells among us, full of grace and truth. The meaning of Christmas is made clear: the light shines in the darkness. It is in the liturgy that we encounter the Word made flesh—in the people of God gathered together as the body of Christ, and in the meal around the holy table. We go forth to be bearers of light as we proclaim this good news to all the ends of the earth.

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Sunday, December 28, 2008
First Sunday of Christmas
Isaiah 61:10—62:3, Psalm 148, Galatians 4:4–7 Luke 2:22–40
In the psalm all the natural world praises God, including all humanity, male and female, young and old. The voices of Simeon and 84-year-old Anna join the chorus today, recognizing what God is doing in Jesus. Simeon’s song is often sung after communion, for we have seen God’s salvation in the assembled community and have held Jesus in our hands in the bread. Then, like the prophet Anna, we speak of Jesus to all who look for the healing of the world.

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CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP will be held at 5:00, 7:00, and 11:00pm on Wednesday, December 24. Please come and worship with us. All will be candlelight services with communion.

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