The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. … For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:2, 6)
Dear Beloved in Christ:
The days are getting shorter and darker and colder, and yet there is something growing every day, coming closer every day, becoming brighter and warmer every day: the coming of the Christ Child.
God’s self-giving love is shown to the whole world in his beloved Son, and the joy and peace that he brings us from God the Father, so that we, believing in him, may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God comes down to us at Christmas; we anticipate this joyful event every day of Advent, and spend the season of waiting and watching in preparation for his coming into our lives and hearts.
As the days grow closer, as we reach the fulfillment of expectation in the joys of Christmas, we remember those we love, those near us and those far away, those who came before and those who are yet to come, and we think of the other people that God loves, that he knows and we have not known, and we bring them all before the Lord’s Table.
We offer our prayers and thanksgivings for the blessings we have received, and our intercessions for those who have gone without. We remember them, and know that even if we forget, God has them close to his heart. We know this, because Love came down at Christmas.
God has come to us, in the person of a person like ourselves, a little one, an infant, helpless and wailing, like any other; defenseless, humble, a servant. And yet in this very moment he showed his glory— glory not as the world knows it, but glory in the strength of the Spirit of God, a glory that is so strong it can give away its power, so bright it can carry through the dark, and so big that it can make itself as tiny as a whisper— a still, small voice, through which God can speak.
From the smallest of voices to the loudest hosannas, we gather each year at this time, to thank God for the gift of hope, of joy, of peace, and of love, that we know in Christ: unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…
Merry Christmas everybody, and God bless us, every one!
The Rev. John Leech, Priest and Rector
You are always welcome at St. Alban’s!
Worship with us this Christmas season:
St. Alban's Christmas Worship Schedule
Sunday December 21 –
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (traditional)
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (contemporary)
Wednesday December 24 – Christmas Eve
5:30 p.m. Family Eucharist with Children's Pageant
(All children are invited to take part!)
10:30 p.m. Festive Eucharist
Thursday December 25 – Christmas Day
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Sunday December 28 –
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (traditional)
10:30 a.m. Lessons & Carols, with Eucharist
Sunday January 4 – The Epiphany (observed)
8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (traditional)
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (contemporary)
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church
21405 82nd Place West (near Five Corners)
Edmonds, Washington 98026
(425) 775-0371
http://www.stalbansedmonds.org
Holy Eucharist every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Healing Eucharist every Wednesday at 9:00 a.m.
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Showing posts with label Romans 15:13. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans 15:13. Show all posts
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Sunday, September 24, 2006
downward mobility
Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." (Mark 9:30-37)
On this journey Jesus tries to hide from public view and avoid publicity. He is trying to teach his disciples something difficult, something mysterious.
For the second of three times, as they travel together, he teaches the disciples that he – the Son of Man, the Messiah, the holy one of Israel – must be betrayed, and suffer, must be killed, and rise again.
The disciples don’t get it. Instead, they argue among themselves who is the greatest.
Jesus teaches the need for humble service.
Whoever would be first must be last,
Whoever would be greatest must be least.
Whoever would find himself must lose himself, deny himself, become lost.
Jesus teaches by paradox – there is no worldly purpose to what he is saying.
Whoever receives one such child, receives me,
Whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me.
Can those who are last have a deeper relationship with Jesus, who made himself last by accepting the Cross?
Indeed, Jesus himself – the Messiah, the holy one of God – has cast aside worldly greatness. In an upwardly mobile world, he seeks
DOWNWARD MOBILITY
For he did not clutch to himself equality with God but humbled himself and became human, became one of us, taking the form even of a servant. And he has promised us that where we have visited the sick, fed the hungry, visited the prisoner – the last, the least, the lost – there we have found him.
Receive as Christ “the last, the least, the lost” (Dean Baker’s phrase).
In the brokenness of humanity we meet him. In the brokenness of others, however unlovely, there we find him. And we find him – and he finds us – in our own most unlovely, broken places. There he is, in the midst of us: his body, broken for us, his blood, shed for us, his life, given for us.
Welcoming the discarded child within yourself is also welcoming Christ.
The child you receive may be the Christ Child.
The Christ child receives you.
Where were you? We ask God: in the midst, hungry, naked, oppressed, poor, in mourning, in Eucharist, in celebration, in the hope of the resurrection.
In assurance of eternal life given at Baptism, let us proclaim our faith and say,
We believe in God...
Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to you Richard Yale’s father, our brother Ted, who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. Grant that his death may recall to us your victory over death, and be an occasion for us to renew our trust in your Father’s love. Give us, we pray, the faith to follow where you have led the way; and where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
On this journey Jesus tries to hide from public view and avoid publicity. He is trying to teach his disciples something difficult, something mysterious.
For the second of three times, as they travel together, he teaches the disciples that he – the Son of Man, the Messiah, the holy one of Israel – must be betrayed, and suffer, must be killed, and rise again.
The disciples don’t get it. Instead, they argue among themselves who is the greatest.
Jesus teaches the need for humble service.
Whoever would be first must be last,
Whoever would be greatest must be least.
Whoever would find himself must lose himself, deny himself, become lost.
Jesus teaches by paradox – there is no worldly purpose to what he is saying.
Whoever receives one such child, receives me,
Whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me.
Can those who are last have a deeper relationship with Jesus, who made himself last by accepting the Cross?
Indeed, Jesus himself – the Messiah, the holy one of God – has cast aside worldly greatness. In an upwardly mobile world, he seeks
DOWNWARD MOBILITY
For he did not clutch to himself equality with God but humbled himself and became human, became one of us, taking the form even of a servant. And he has promised us that where we have visited the sick, fed the hungry, visited the prisoner – the last, the least, the lost – there we have found him.
Receive as Christ “the last, the least, the lost” (Dean Baker’s phrase).
In the brokenness of humanity we meet him. In the brokenness of others, however unlovely, there we find him. And we find him – and he finds us – in our own most unlovely, broken places. There he is, in the midst of us: his body, broken for us, his blood, shed for us, his life, given for us.
Welcoming the discarded child within yourself is also welcoming Christ.
The child you receive may be the Christ Child.
The Christ child receives you.
Where were you? We ask God: in the midst, hungry, naked, oppressed, poor, in mourning, in Eucharist, in celebration, in the hope of the resurrection.
In assurance of eternal life given at Baptism, let us proclaim our faith and say,
We believe in God...
Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to you Richard Yale’s father, our brother Ted, who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism. Grant that his death may recall to us your victory over death, and be an occasion for us to renew our trust in your Father’s love. Give us, we pray, the faith to follow where you have led the way; and where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. Amen.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you always. Amen.
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