Sermon

What a strange and difficult Christmas this has been! Perhaps most difficult of all is being separated from many of those we love, with whom we normally would gather this year. As the pandemic rages on, we are left to connect with loved ones via phone, Zoom, window visits, or socially distanced outdoor get-togethers. As the song, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” reminds us, this year we may only be able to be with loved ones in our dreams – our imaginations. To refresh your memory of the ancient story that holds us all enthrall this time of year, read…

It’s the fourth Sunday of Advent, a day that falls pretty much in the middle of my favorite period in the season – the week of the O Antiphons.  The O Antiphons are verses that are sung or chanted at vespers from December 17-23.  They are called the O Antiphons because each of these short verses begins with the word, or letter, O, and addresses Christ by a different title: O Wisdom, O Adonai, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Radiant Dawn, O King of Nations, O Emmanuel.  The hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is based…

“I’m tired.”  I hear this every day.  I hear it from family caregivers who miss the opportunities for the much needed breaks they once had in the “Before Times” when people could come into their home to relieve them for a few hours.  I hear it from the newly bereaved whose grief is complicated by pandemic-induced social distancing mandates that come at a time when they need to be physically close to those they love.  I hear it from front line health care workers and teachers and therapists and pastors and activists. I hear it from parents who are desperately…