Tragedy and Beauty at Christmas: The Massacre of the Innocents

Last updated on: December 29, 2019 at 5:19 am By Bruce Epperly

Just a few days after the celebration of Christmas, the light of Bethlehem is eclipsed and the dark shadows of life return to the stories of young Jesus. Tucked between Christmas Day and the Feast of Epiphany (January 6), the Massacre of Infants or Slaughter of Innocents is remembered. In the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian and other Protestant traditions, this tragic moment in the biblical story is recalled on December 28; the Eastern Orthodox tradition sets aside December 29 as... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Epiphany Sunday – January 5, 2020

Last updated on: December 26, 2019 at 11:01 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – Epiphany Sunday – January 5, 2020 Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-4, Matthew 2:1-12 and John 1:10-18 Preachers on January 5 have two options, theologically and scripturally. On the one hand, they can use the assigned readings for the Second Sunday of Christmas. On the other hand, congregations, like my own, will be celebrating the Feast of Epiphany. While one can focus on the Johannine contrast of light and darkness and God’s power to transform our... Read more

The Hopes and Fears of All the Years: A Christmas Eve Meditation

Last updated on: December 24, 2019 at 5:04 pm By Bruce Epperly

I never knew what became of them. Every year scores of people come to our church seeking help in responding to needs of body, mind, and spirit. And we try to respond with grace and generosity. But this couple was unique. It was two days before Christmas and they showed up in a battered car that they had been sleeping in since being evicted from their apartment the week before. They had a history, like so many who come for... Read more

Winter Solstice Meditation: Darkness Has a Light of Its Own

Last updated on: December 21, 2019 at 3:24 pm By Bruce Epperly

On the eve of the shortest day of the year, when darkness envelopes the earth, we await the coming light and affirm that within the womb of darkness, light emerges, and growth occurs, often when we least expect it. Sometimes, in the midst of grief, when we are in the depths of loss and depression, the light seems faraway, impossible to find again. Out of the depths, we cry and sometimes all we hear is our own voice. And yet,... Read more

Our Hearts are Filled with Joy: A Christmas Eve Meditation

Last updated on: December 24, 2019 at 10:49 am By Bruce Epperly

“Joy to the World” – A Christmas Eve Meditation Christmas isn’t always easy for the children in our midst. This year some will celebrate Christmas separated from their parents and incarcerated on the USA borderlands. Others, such as the descendants of one of the first Christian communities, have fled Syria and are now in refugee camps. Still others grief the loss of a parent or miss a parent stationed overseas. It had been a difficult year for the little boy.... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday of Christmas – December 29, 2019

Last updated on: December 28, 2019 at 10:07 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday of Christmas – December 29, 2019 Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23. Today’s readings are both painful and hopeful. They describe the contrast between the fidelity of God and the evil intentions of those in political power. Yet, the evils human plan are penultimate and will not last; God’s vision is present in threat and tragedy, giving us hope for deliverance. Today’s scriptures note that the Infinite is also intimate. God’s... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 22, 2019

Last updated on: December 11, 2019 at 4:58 pm By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 22, 2019 Isaiah 7:10-16 Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-25 Today’s reading is about a world changing birth prefigured by Joseph’s Christ-saving dream. While we need not neglect Isaiah’s imaginative vision of a child whose birth will change everything, the Psalmist’s hymn to divine restoration, or Paul’s account of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises, Christmas is on the horizon and with it the surprising accounts of... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday in Advent – December 15, 2019

Last updated on: December 4, 2019 at 8:36 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary –Third Sunday in Advent – December 15, 2019 Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 1:46b-55 James 5:7-10 Matthew 2:1-11 Advent is a time for hopeful transformation. There is a restlessness in the air as we imagine God’s realm coming to earth and possibilities that push us to the limits of our personal and political imaginations. Creation and humankind lean toward wholeness; the moral arc runs through all things; creation groans and so do we. We imagine a new age –... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday of Advent – December 8, 2019

Last updated on: November 25, 2019 at 7:10 am By Bruce Epperly

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday in Advent – December 8, 2019 Isaiah 10:1-11 Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12 There is a deep restlessness in Advent. Those who seek a spirituality of withdrawal, of peace and quiet, will not find it during Advent. On the one hand, we are bombarded by consumerism and our church and social schedules are filling to the brim. In North America, the hedonistic binge begins with Thanksgiving and Black Friday and escalates... Read more