[RCL] Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Today we enter a transformational, even magical time of year: for this is… the weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and there are only 26 shopping days left until Christmas! It is time to spread sweetness and light among your loved ones by making all…

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Note: Eschatological is pronounced “ES-cat-uh-lodg-i-cul”. Eschaton is pronounced “ES-cah-tahn”. There is a word that seminary students tend to love – maybe because it’s a big word and makes people feel intelligent: “eschatological”. You can use all kinds of variations of the word, from eschaton to eschatology….

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 The hippopotamus is an awfully deadly animal. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica hippos are the sixth most deadly mammal to humans on the planet. Hippos follow elephants, horses, deer, tigers, and of course, other humans as the most dangerous mammals to human beings. Most of us,…

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 How does your time look between now and Christmas? Is your calendar for the next four weeks a jumble of “musts”? There’s shopping, wrapping, shipping, delivering. There are the Christmas cards. There’s the tree to be bought, trimmed, and watered every day. There’s the outside decorating….

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Happy Advent! Today marks the beginning of Advent, the season when we prepare for the coming of Christ, a season when we hear again the Church’s emphasis on hope and future. Part of what we do during this season is to prepare to celebrate the coming…

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 “Lo, He comes with clouds descending,” are the words of a favorite Advent hymn. “Clouds descending” may have a majestic tone or sound like a terrible storm about to strike. Today, the first day of the Christian year, begins with a contrast: the Light of the…

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Today we find ourselves on the opening day of Advent. Let’s take a look at the patterns of life that this season offers us. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Looking around the church, we may well see the traditional signs of…

Imagine that it is the predawn of human history. You are a human inhabitant of the Northern Hemisphere of the planet Earth. You know nothing of written words and your language is plain and simple. And all around you the world is full of terrible dangers. Your life is threatened everywhere you turn. But there…

[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 The lessons for this first Sunday in Advent are grand; they are big statements we’ve heard so much we forget exactly where they came from: Big stuff. What are we to make of them all; we, who have said goodbye to another liturgical year and hello…