RoboPreacher

suddenly, the Lord, descending / in his temple shall appear A sermon on the laying of the 2nd temple's cornerstone While the department stores are rotating a nearly endless loop of holly jolly Christmas muzak, today’s Scripture strikes an ambiguous note. Instead of all things merry and bright , the sound of glee is mixed with the howl of grief . When the temple’s cornerstone is laid, the song of praise is counterbalanced with that of pain . The hymns are mingled with heartache . …I confess this passage speaks to me. For one thing, all the forced happiness of the holidays wears me out. To be clear, I like Christmas. I’m no Scrooge. As a person prone to get down by the colder, darker days, a little Christmas cheer does me a lot of good. And that’s especially true when the weather isn’t even kind enough to give us a little snow ! The rub , though, is that weird pressure to be festive every blasted moment of the season! For starters, it’s a tall order. This month will...

in time the lord will rise Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10-13 : This story really begins about 50 years earlier . When God’s chosen people, Israel, were defeated by Babylon.   Babylon had sacked their capitol city and razed their national cathedral. In a final act of indignation , Babylon deported their leading citizens away into exile . Forcing them to live as foreigners in a foreign country… …And the truth is, although we’ve never been led away by force, we CAN relate to this. Those times when we’re so down and out , it feels like we’re a foreigner , a stranger to our own lives. Sometimes we especially feel like that during this time of the year. …One of my favorite musicians, Sufjan Stevens, has released two , five album Christmas box sets! That’s a lot of Christmas music; 10 albums! As fun and quirky as all the music is, the story behind it is even better.   For Sufjan Christmas was usually the time all the drama of his family l...