Blessed are you who are poor, because you understand what it means to want, and the importance of all people receiving the comfort they deserve. Blessed are you who are hungry now, because you understand the importance of every belly on this earth being full. Blessed are you who weep now, for you understand what true joy is when you receive it in the form of love from your friends. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, revile you, because you know what it means to be a part of a sacred community, one in which all are unconditionally loved and accepted…

“Do not be afraid” shows up at these times of high drama, at times when it would seem there would, indeed, be much to fear. And you know, in everyday life, it can be infuriating to be told “Don’t be scared,” or “Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal,” when things do feel scary, and when things do feel like a big deal. But I don’t think this is what God or Isaiah or Jesus means when they say “Don’t be afraid.” I don’t think they’re, to use some kind of therapy-speak buzzwords, “invalidating our feelings” by saying this. What they are saying, I believe is, “Don’t let your fear consume you. Don’t let your fear stop you from doing what is right.”

…I think the most telling thing about this is— the last straw was, apparently, having their own scripture being quoted to them. They were being shown with no ambiguity, this is what our faith tells us, and this is what you’re mad about. They were being shown their blatant and blasphemous hypocrisy…

We can have a world free of debt, free of slavery, free of all forms of oppression. That day can be today. Jesus is saying, “Here I am, and if you want to be free, follow me. If you want to work for this kind of world, come with me, because I’ve been sent to bring this world to fruition. I’ve been sent to show you what’s possible if you truly want it.”

This is the time to really think about each of your God-given gifts, and what we can bring to our small corner of the world, what we can do to quell all that tension and fear and anxiety in this community. This is the time to think about how we can come together to…really show that we are a beacon of hope, of light in dark times…

What we have here, in this community of Christ, is priceless. The love we have for one another, bound by our faith in something greater than us, in an ultimate and unconditional love, cannot be bought. It cannot be sold. It cannot be destroyed…

…the humanity of Jesus also includes his birth and his childhood. Which means the humanity of Jesus includes this awe and this wonder, this sense of real possibility. The humanity of Jesus includes the joy and innocence of childhood.

This is the irrational season
When love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason,
There’d have been no room for the child.

“After Annunciation” by Madeleine L’Engle

That action of writing “His name is John”— that was proof God had wiped away a lifetime of disappointment that led to years of bitterness. It was proof that Zechariah truly believed. He was no longer a discouraged cynic—he was now a believer, prepared to foster his son’s greatness, prepared to raise him in love and in joy, truly understanding, truly believing, that his son would set the stage for a new era…

So there are two suggestions here, two pieces of advice— and they’re crucial, though it proves a pretty thin tightrope to walk— Luke is telling us to both not let the worries and anxieties of this world paralyze us; but also to be ready so that we aren’t caught off-guard when this end, the second coming, when this “great final Advent” as Bonhoeffer says, comes at long last…

In our psalm for today, there’s no theological or scholarly consensus as to what verse 3 is referring: “As for the holy ones in the land, they are noble / in whom is all my delight.” Some think the holy ones are angels, or some other divine or supernatural force. But what if they’re just… good people? What if we look for the holy ones among us?

 And so we have to meet those threats and whatever comes head-on in our community, in whatever small, but not insignificant way we can. Because no matter what, no matter who is in the white house, this community is what we have, and that’s where our power lies. We work with what we’ve got, and we’ve got each other. We will be there for the queer folks in our community. We will continue to help the poor, to support the prisoner, to lift up the oppressed. That won’t change. But we might have to work a little harder. We might have to show up more. We have might to be creative…

God’s shadow is all over the book of Ruth. It is in the obvious places—in the return of food to the land of Judah—but it is in Ruth’s loyalty. It is in Naomi’s laments. It is in Orpah’s farewell kiss. God’s shadow, for better and for worse is always on this earth. We can always feel God’s shadow; we cannot always feel Godself, God’s presence…

Imagine a world in which we never have to feel anything other than that incredible sigh of relief when we enter a room in which we know the people in that room truly understand us—a world in which we are all wise enough and enlightened enough, full of enough love to give everyone the grace they deserve, the way Jesus give us that unconditional grace…

Jesus suffered the human condition. And that’s what makes Jesus a perfect savior. God is perfect. But God wasn’t a perfect God for humankind until Jesus… until God experienced the human condition through Jesus…

This passage, in my reading, isn’t about magical healing powers. This passage is about the power of community, of togetherness; the power of trust. It’s about relying on one another in spite of missteps, in spite of misunderstandings. It’s about keeping one another uplifted during trying times…

And of course it’s not really about material things. It’s about status and power. It’s about feeling like we’re better than our fellow humans. It’s that corrupting earthly wisdom that does that  drives us to be this way, that makes us always want to one-up our neighbor… while Jesus calls us to uplift our neighbor, so that we are all on the same level...

Ted Chiang compares using programs like ChatGPT to write to “bringing a forklift into the weight room.” Without putting in the effort to really listen for the truth and listen for connection, we don’t work that compassion muscle. And we lose it. We lose the ability to empathize and connect...

If we want people to contribute to society, if we want people to contribute to us as a faith community, we need to work. Faith without works is dead. Church without works is dead. Democracy without works is dead. Love without works is dead...

James seems to believe that if we follow this perfect law, we can, indeed be perfect. We can be like Christ. Now, I always found comfort in the fact that perfection is an impossibility for us deeply flawed humans, and I still do… but what if we’re selling ourselves short? What if we really should strive towards perfection? What if we’re actually called to become perfect, and in turn to perfect this deeply imperfect world?