“Let us desire the world as it is.” When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain that day, he didn’t actually change. His essence didn’t change, his being didn’t change. He was then what he always had been, and what he always will be—fully human, fully divine, our savior, Creator, Christ,  and Spirit, three-in-one. It was simply that he was revealed to his disciples, definitively, that this was the case. But in his disorientation, in his fear, and in his grief, Peter could only think of what had been—the transformative time he has spent with Jesus; he could only think of what would be lost with Jesus gone, instead of what could be gained with everything Jesus taught…

Guest speaker Jeffrey Hamelman, former director of King Arthur Flour Bakery, speaks to us about the inspiring work he’s been doing in Uganda.

We are called to live these words always. And in a world that rewards bombast over humility, military might over peace, ruthlessness over mercy, it’s hard to live the Beatitudes outside these doors…

They were four young men, toiling the day away. They could have been any of us. We can all, we must all answer when we are called. Because just as we could be Peter or Andrew, James or John, we could also be Alex Pretti, or Renee Good. This is not the time to stand down. This is not the time to despair to withdraw. Christ’s call is louder than ever right now—his call to love, his call to peace…

…we are all chosen by God. We are all servants of God. We are all gifted with the faith, the words, the grace to change the world, to turn unjust power structures on their heads. When we hear of violence and horrors halfway across the country, we can’t despair. We can’t shrug our shoulders and say ‘well, nothing we can do here,’ and therefore not confront these evils that are so present in our world. Because God’s gifts, God’s love, is too big, too infinite to confine ourselves to simply was serves us in the short term, to confine ourselves at all.

…to make this commitment, we have to pay attention. This isn’t something we can do casually in the background. This isn’t something we can do half-heartedly…

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, points out that Advent, the season that leads up to this glorious night, is a season of waiting and preparation; and he writes that “our whole life…is Advent.” Tonight we wait and celebrate the arrival of a fragile human baby. Tonight we wait to celebrate the divine contradiction of a king, a savior, human and divine, born as such a vulnerable being. But if we are to really and truly live out the stubborn and persistent Christmas hope, we recognize that our whole lives are Advent…

…as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, to celebrate the birth of our savior, come to earth as a vulnerable infant, we are presented with a man who is anything but dominant or controlling. We are presented with a man who refuses to let a young woman be publicly disgraced, much less killed for what he, at that time, was sure was a grave indiscretion on her part. We are presented with a man who, upon waking from dreams, fully submits to the will of God, without a hint of pride or stubbornness. We are presented with a man who trusts and loves fully, with his whole mind and his whole heart. We are presented with a man who truly allows himself to be led by love, no matter what frightening or unbelievable places that love may take him.

Thanks to our Christian Education director and our wonderful youth for leading a truly joyful pageant!

“This is a hymn about beholding and listening. It’s about watching revelation flourish.” Beholding and listening. Watching revelation flourish. This is Advent. Behold the miracle of Christ. Listen to the angel’s message. Watch the revelation of God come to earth in human form. It comes, and we are paying attention, and we are listening for it…

We bless what’s unfinished. We bless those like Grothendieck, who, in spite of all their demons, never give up on attempting to find the solution to the problem of evil, to find a way to transform all that has gone wrong in the world into what is right. We bless the hard, seemingly endless work that needs to be done…

 …this is not a sermon about the morality of working. This is not a sermon about bootstrapping and fighting our way up the any kind of employment ladder. This is a sermon about what work should be. This is a sermon about what a community in Christ should be, and about what the world should be. It’s about remembering that the apostles found joy in the world they were doing because they knew they were working for something bigger than themselves…

So whenever you feel yourself getting worked up over a scary new headline, whether it be a medical study, whether it be about politics, just stop. Breath. And “do not be quickly shaken.” Be vigilant, be discerning, but remember your faith and “stand firm…in the traditions you’ve been taught.” Stand firm in peace. Stand firm in compassion. Stand firm in love for your neighbor.

So how, during this extended season of change, do we make ourselves a community worth boasting about? How, during these years of tumult do we remain steadfast in our faith? And how, during this time of fierce division and hatred, do we continue grow in our love for one another? 

So how do we let go? How do we lighten our loads in these, the heaviest of times? I can’t tell you for certain what will or won’t work for you, but I thought we could give something a try…

Faith may seem like a fantastical thing to have by some— after all, our faith in something we cannot see of ever truly know; but in a time when seeing is no longer believing, it is our faith that can ground us during these overwhelming times. It’s our faith that keeps us safe from the wolves, and that keeps us from becoming a wolf. it’s our faith that can keep us “sober in everything,” as Paul says, to keep us steady as we carry on, leading with Love in a hateful world…

…the work is that of liberation—working towards a freedom from the kind of violence and hate that is being espoused by those in the highest levels of power; working towards a freedom that is only possible with the encouragement and hope of one another—a freedom, for us, as followers of Jesus, that is possible thanks to Christ’s work of salvation and capital-L Love…

What does it mean to be “civilized?” what does it mean to act with “godliness” and “dignity?” Does it simply mean to have decorum? To not rock the boat? To stay under the radar and let the world run its course however it’s going to? Can we consider ourselves a “civilized” people if there are people going hungry, going without shelter, going without safety or comfort? No—because as Thurman writes, “my life beings where your life begins.” We are all connected, and when one is in bondage, we all are…

There is no denying that are living in a time right now when sharing our opinions, our voice, our concerns, our criticisms can feel downright terrifying— freedoms we once took for granted in the public sphere seem to be slipping through our fingers. We need spaces like this now more than ever…

It’s an absurdity that contradicts the Greco-Roman ideals of domesticity, decorum, and snobbish moral uprightness that so much of 1 Timothy seems to encourage. Especially in our relatively intellectual, progressive, mainline Protestant tradition, I think we sometimes take for granted just how radical and beautiful the grace of God, the lynchpin of our faith, truly is— that someone as violent and cruel as Paul, or in the words of Buechner, someone who’s a chicken, a phony and a slob, can be so unconditionally loved, can be forgiven and embraced…