Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

  Luke 2:22-40 A re you familiar with the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas?”  Well, that song is about the season of Christmas – the twelve days beginning with Christmas Day and ending on January 5, Epiphany, the day that the Visit of the Magi is celebrated. From the first Sunday in Advent to Epiphany, starting with the story of Zachariah  and Gabriel to the tale of how three wise men followed a star to Bethlehem, we watch the glorious, miraculous unfolding of the fullness of God’s time.   MESSAGE If a story begins with “in the fullness of time”, it’s pretty much a given that it’s going to be about a person or a group of people who have been waiting for something to happen for a very long time.   To be exact, humanity had been waiting since the snake and apple incident in the Garden of Eden when God cursed the serpent, “ I will put enmity between you and the woman,   and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head,   and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:

 Note:  for a video that includes the Advent Candle writing, prayers and this message, click here:   https://youtu.be/OVM1cc_1Qng      The video will be released on Sunday, December 20, at 9:00 am EST. Matthew 1:18-25 Well everyone needs compassion A love that's never failing ... … Everyone needs forgiveness The kindness of a Savior The hope of nations      “Mighty to Save” by Laura Story   The marriage contract had been agreed upon by both Mary and Joseph’s family.   The only thing left to do was to publicly take Mary into his home.   Now, though … The law was clear.   He had no choice.   Mary had obviously committed adultery, so there was no recourse but to divorce her.   But how?   Should he publicly charge her with adultery which would lead to her stoning or should he show compassion and quietly end the marriage.   Either way, all their plans for the future were gone. Have we ever been caught in a situation where no matter what we decided to do, it was going to b

To watch a video of this message which includes the lighting of the Advent Candle, scripture readings and prayer, click on:   https://youtu.be/3uqHF-HkuL0 The video will be available after 9 am, EST. Luke 1:39-56 In the fullness of time … What I find awesome and joy-inspiring in the stories of the first chapter of Luke is watching God in and through the lives of ordinary people like you and me, ordering the fulfillment of his promises of deliverance and salvation for humanity and all of creation. This is the third Sunday of Advent, and the theme is “joy.”   The joy candle in the Advent wreath is pink representing the lifting of the darkness in anticipation of the birth of Jesus. The Church of the Visitation (formerly  Abbey Church of St John in the Woods ) is a  Catholic church in Ein Karem Jerusalem, and honors the visit of Mary to Elizabeth.  Traditionally, this site is where Mary recited her song of joy and praise, the Magnificat.   The courtyard contains a statue of Mary and El

  To watch a video that includes this message, prayers and the reading for the Advent Candle, click on the following link.  The video will be released on Sunday, December 6, 2020, at 9:00 am EST :    https://youtu.be/bk0_3xEHbVw Luke 1:26-38 What does peace look like for you?  I find that I’m most at peace late at night or very early in the morning.  That’s when it’s quiet, and I can think and pray and just … be.  Two of my favorite winter activities are shoveling snow or cross country skiing at night for the same reason. For my mother, peace was having no conflict in the household, particularly when my little sister and I got along.  I think our teen years when we were both at home the hardest on her.  Sometimes, we took our frustration with each other out in battles of the bands – Bruce Springsteen versus the 1812 overture complete with real cannon fire. Dave Ramsey’s program, Financial Peace University, is named that for a reason.  What peace of mind it is when there’s no credit car