RoboPreacher

joseph gets upset b/c he doesn't understand A sermon on Joseph's role in the drama of redemption : We love these pageants. Don’t we? And it’s not just because these youngsters are adorable in their getups, either. Although let’s face it, they are .   No, we love these pageants because they hit upon a truth . A long sought- after promise. An ennobling reality, even. But it is also a truth that is often oh so hard to come by in this harried day-to-day existence we’re all just trying to get through. However, it must also be said that while these pageants are truthful , they aren’t particularly accurate . It’s been ten Christmases you’ve all suffered through my sermons. God bless you. And each year, when it comes time to prepare for the sermon, I’m surprised all over again at just how brief the Christmas story is on the matter of Mary and Joseph’s plight ! The stuff that entire pageants are devoted to warrants merely a passing mention in the Gospel writer's account o...

in a cry of a tiny babe The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 1st chapter! Today we come to the very last moments before the manger will bear the Living Word, Jesus. Today we get to hear the last details of those final precious moments before that fateful birth... The truth, though, is that I don't really need to work too hard at commending this story to you, do I? No, this story needs no cranky pastor exhorting we read, and take seriously this story. No, this is a story needs no help captivating our attention. Why is that? Why is this is a story that "sticks in our craw" as the expression goes? Why is it is a story that comes to life for us like no other story? In fact, it is a story that I find, again and again, takes little teaching.   I'm always struck how our youth don't need to be taught how to notice this strange holiness within the story. This story even manages to fiddle with our all too ordinary, and busy...