Text: Luke 1:39-56 (Mary’s song of love and justice) * Video of complete service * Order of service (PDF) Friends, in 2005 I joined a choir in Toronto called the “Bell’Arte Singers,” and that December, we presented a Christmas concert. The program booklet for the concert talked about our hopes for a world of greater peace and joy, and it ended with … [Read more…]
Text: Luke 1:26-38 (the birth of Jesus foretold) * Video of first part of service * Order of service (PDF) Like most children born in the 1950s, I became enchanted by Christmas as soon as I became aware of it; and because my late father was a United Church minister, and because Canada was much more religious then, … [Read more…]
Texts: “Our deepest fear” by Marianne Williamson * Luke 1:46-56 (Mary’s song) Video of complete service “Christmas comes but once a year,” or so goes an old saying that encourages us to celebrate it with abandon. But when I was a child, I came to the happy realization there was more than one Christmas each … [Read more…]
Texts: from “Lifesigns” by Henri Nouwen * Luke 1:26-45 (the birth of Jesus foretold) Video of complete service When I dream about Christmas, I find it easier to imagine feeling joy next year – Christmas 2021 — than this year; probably because many of us hope and expect that by next fall, the COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more…]
Text: Luke 1:46-56 (Mary’s song of love and justice) Have you ever noticed that many of the holidays we celebrate in Canada have roots in the church but are now mostly secular? This list would include Valentine’s Day on February 14, St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, and Halloween on October 31. There are still … [Read more…]
Text: Luke 1:57-80 (the birth of John the Baptist) The joys of Christmas come easily to my mind – things like family meals, expressions of love and affection, child-like delight in trees and candles, gift-giving, music, chocolates. But Advent joy can seem more elusive. Kim and I experienced an afternoon filled with what I call … [Read more…]
Text: Luke 1:26-56 (the miraculous conception of Jesus) “You have deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places.” Every December, we hear these words of Mary as she prepares to give birth to Jesus. Her words connect Christmas not just to birth and light, but also to hopes that justice … [Read more…]
Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11, 16-18 (“Pray without ceasing”) Every Advent, the following debate surfaces: is Christmas secular or religious? Today, we are in the middle of Advent, a season that includes the four Sundays before Christmas. And while the retail and entertainment industries try to conflate Advent and Christmas, they are two distinct seasons. Advent … [Read more…]
Text: Matthew 2:13-23 (the Slaughter of the Innocents) Today’s reading from Matthew is not one that leads easily to “Merry Christmas!” Paula Simons, writing on December 23 in the Edmonton Journal about the dangers faced by children today, began by recounting Matthew’s story of what happened after the First Christmas. In her column, she noted … [Read more…]
Text: Luke 2:21-40 (Jesus is named at the Temple) — this is a short reflection presented on Christmas morning, December 25, 2016 In today’s reading from Luke, an old man named Simeon is prompted by the Spirit to go to the Temple in Jerusalem right after the first Christmas. When he gets there, he meets … [Read more…]