Christmas is a time of joyous surprise as we receive God’s gift of hope yet again. The darkness, though threatening, has not overwhelmed us. In bread and cup, body and blood, the gift of Christ comes given and shed for you, for me and for all. In a simple, almost hidden way, hope breaks into our hearts, our lives and our world anew.
Down in a lonely manger, the humble Christ was born; and God sent us salvation that blessed Christmas morn! My beloved, all:
Christmas is a time of joyous surprise as we receive God’s gift of hope yet again. The darkness, though threatening, has not overwhelmed us. In bread and cup, body and blood, the gift of Christ comes given and shed for you, for me and for all. In a simple, almost hidden way, hope breaks into our hearts, our lives and our world anew.
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by Bishop Bill GohlThe beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. - Mark 1:1-8 For as many years as I have been ordained, I have led a Bible study series for different church or community groups on the biblical birth narratives of Jesus. It’s a favorite topic that I approach as if I were G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown character, piecing together how we amalgamate the Matthew and Luke birth narratives into a single, synthesized nativity scene with the magi of Matthew hobnobbing with the shepherds of Luke. With that discussion comes the inevitable peek at favorite Christmas carols and how they fit as pieces of a puzzle into helping reveal a larger meta-narrative about Christmas, delighting some with the rich Christological imagery of Hark, the Herald Angels Sing and its allusions to the John narrative, devastating others with the news that Joy to the World is actually Advent carol paraphrase of a psalm. Each of the narratives, too, has "its" day – Luke on Christmas Eve, John on Christmas Day (and a rerun on one of the Sundays in the Christmas season) and Matthew on Epiphany Day.
by Bishop Bill Gohl"Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place." – Jeremiah 22:1-5 Will you give faithful witness in the world,
that God's love may be known in all that you do? I will, and I ask God to help me. from The Rite of Installation for a Bishop |
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