Gospel Brief: one minute reflections from the editors of Sunday Sermons

Now available for use in your Sunday bulletin,
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January 13, 2008
Matthew 3:13-17

Scripture Reading
Then Jesus appeared: He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade Him. 'It is I who need baptism from You' he said 'and yet You come to me!' But Jesus replied, 'Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that righteousness demands.' At this, John gave in to Him.

As soon as Jesus was baptised He came up from the water, and suddenly the Heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And a voice spoke from Heaven, 'This is My Son, the Beloved; My favour rests on Him.'

Commentary
Today's Gospel Lesson is the story of Jesus' baptism. At this point, Jesus is about thirty years old and we know very little about Him. At age twelve He appeared for a brief moment in the Temple for what today would be a Bar Mitzvah. It is eighteen years later when he again appears at the River Jordan where John is baptizing, and preaching about the Kingdom. Jesus says to John in effect, "Here I am, baptize Me, I want to be part of this." And, in a most dramatic way, God uses the event to call Jesus into His public ministry. The Gospel writer speaks of the Holy Spirit coming in the form of a dove and the voice of God saying, "This is My Son, the beloved. My favour rests on Him" (Mt. 3:17).

The scenario is impressive. But it doesn't end there. Equally impressive is the realization of the tremendous experience taking place within the Person of Jesus. God is calling Him into His public ministry and Jesus is answering, "Yes!" God is guiding Him toward complete fulfillment of His life's mission and Jesus is following that guidance. This is so important an event in Jesus' life that many theologians insist that the rest of the Gospel is simply a living out of what happened here at the baptism.

Endless sermons can be preached on what this meant to Jesus. But we need to know now what it means to us. With Jesus' baptism as our model, we see that God calls us and God leads us and God guides us toward the complete fulfillment of our life's mission, toward the living out of life's true meaning and purpose. At this very moment, there is an influence in your life coming from God Himself. God is seeking to guide you into the fullness of life.

God's guidance comes in an infinite variety of ways, and always just the right way for each of us. Jesus apparently needed to receive the guidance in this most dramatic way. Because Jesus was so human, He needed this experience. But we read of other times in His life when the guidance came to Him gently and quietly. So it is with us. Sometimes the very heavens seem to open and God takes hold of us and shakes us to get us on the right path. But that doesn't happen very often. Mostly He comes gently and quietly.

January 6, 2008
Matthew 2:1-12

Scripture Reading

After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the East. 'Where is the Infant King of the Jews?' they asked. 'We say His star as it rose and have come to do Him homage.' When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 'At Bethlehem in Judaea,' they told him 'for this is what the prophet wrote:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,
for out of you will come a Leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.'

Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethleham; Go and find out all bout the Child,' he said 'and when you have found Him, let me know, so that I too may go and do Him homage.' Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the Child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did Him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.

Commentary
In today's Gospel Lesson, Matthew has written,

" ... There, in front of them, was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the Child was ... and going into the house, they saw the Child with His mother, Mary, and falling to their knees they did Him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts... (Mt. 2:9-11).

When we reflect on the story of the Three Wise Men, it is important for us to remember that the star was up there for everyone to see. We cannot identify with precision which star it was that guided them to the place of Jesus' birth. Scripture scholars and astronomers have developed certain theories about what caused a certain star to shine with particular brilliance at that time. But they are only theories. Whatever the cause, the real lesson of the story is that it was the "Wise Men from the East" who were able to read the meaning of the star and to follow it. The Epiphany event is a beautiful example of God pouring out His love to overflowing. The Wise Men's lifestyle of searching, questioning, learning, being open to new possibilities for their life, is one of the strong traditions of the Bible.

Like the Wise Men from the East, we come searching, questioning, learning, being open to new possibilities for our lives. Like the Wise Men from the East, we come to open our treasures and to offer Him our priceless gift of self. And it all begins when, like the "Wise Men From the East," we fall to our knees and pay homage to the flawless Image of God who was born in a stable and lay on a bed of straw!

January 1, 2008
Luke 2:16-21

Scripture Reading
So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. When they saw the Child they repeated what they had been told about Him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.

When the eighth day came and the Child was to be circumcised, they gave Him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before His conception.

Commentary
In today's Gospel Lesson, Luke tells us that when the shepherds came to Bethlehem and "found Mary and Joseph and the Baby lying in the Manger," they at once understood, "it was exactly as they had been told." They had experienced the fullness of faith that comes only through a personal encounter with the power of Divine Love. They "understood," not in the sense of identifying intellectually with an abstract faith-formula, but rather by coming into real, live, concrete contact with Love in Person.

The shepherds understood that the mystery of life is sweet. The shepherds understood that they were born to love. The shepherds understood that love was their reason for being, their means of fulfillment, their salvation. The shepherds understood that love and love alone would lead them to the discovery of their life's meaning and purpose. The shepherds understood that the power of love could do what all of the combined forces of the world could not do: bring them to wholeness of life. The shepherds understood that their attitude and approach to life had radically changed: henceforth they would be different! In their encounter with the Lord Jesus, the shepherds were "born again!"

We have made our spiritual journey to Bethlehem. Like the shepherds of old, we have "found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the Manger" and, hopefully, we have understood all that had been told us concerning the Child. This New Year's Day, thank God for the tremendous gift of Christmas! Thank God for our Christmas experience of the fullness of faith! Thank God for our personal encounter with the power of love. Thank God for the Christmas gift that transforms mere existence to new life!

December 30, 2007
Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Scripture Reading
After they had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the Child and His mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the Child and do away with Him.' So Joseph got up and, taking the Child and His mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:
I call My Son out of Egypt.

After Herod's death, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 'Get up, take the Child and His mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the Child are dead.' So Joseph got up and, taking the Child and His mother with him, went back to the land of Israel.

But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judaea he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Galilee. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled:

He will be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:13-15,19-23).

Commentary
In today's Gospel episode, an "angel of the Lord" appears to Joseph in a dream and says, "Get up, take the child and His mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because intends to search for the Child and do away with Him" (Mt. 2:13). Having received the warning, Joseph's intense concern for the safety and well-being of the Child Jesus evokes immediate action. He takes off right away, in the middle of the night, with Mary and the Child.

This Gospel story is a family story, a family adventure involving three persons: mother, father and Child. The figure who captures our attention is Joseph, the father. It is he who receives the warning. It is he who gets the orders to flee from the danger. And it is he who makes the decision to return from Egypt and settle the family in Nazareth when the danger is gone. Yet, even though he holds the largest place in the story, it is not the most important place. The One who gives the orders, the One who is the Source of the adventure in parenting, is God. And the One for whom the adventure is carried out is the Son of God. Thus, everything is derived from God. "Give tender loving care to this Child of yours, protect this Child of yours, put yourself at risk for this Child of yours," is God's command to Jesus' parents -- and to all parents.

When God decided to come to us and to focus His love for us in a tiny Baby, He did it in this family setting. He entered our human situation in the family context.

As a Christian Community, it is critically important for us to affirm, in every way possible, the value of marriage and family as God's great gifts. But this is not the only way God's Grace works. Sometimes God finds other ways. There are persons who live alone. There are persons who have not had immediate family for years and years. Consequently, as Christians, not only do we affirm the value of the immediate family, but also we affirm the value of the Church-as-family. When you say "Yes" to Jesus Christ you are brought into a "family," and never again are you alone in the way you were before. Never! We feel one another's hurts. We feel one another's joy. We are fully present to one another. And God is saying to any who do not have the experience of immediate family: You are loved! You do have a family! The family is here!

December 25, 2007
John 1:1-18

Scripture Reading

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through Him.
All that came to be had life in Him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.
The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and He was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through Him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to His own domain
and His own people did not accept Him.
But to all who did accept Him
He gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of Him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God Himself.
The Word was made flesh,
He lived among us,
and we saw His glory,
the glory that is His as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as His witness. He proclaims:
'This is the One of whom I said:
He who comes after me
ranks before me
because He existed before me.'
Indeed, from His fulness we have, all of us, received -
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart,
who has made Him known (John 1:1-18).

Commentary
" In the beginning was the Word," says the Apostle John in our Christmas Gospel Lesson ...

"He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through Him. All that came to be had life in Him, and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower" (Jn. 1:1,2-6).

We rejoice in the realization that the Light of God is nowhere more present than where we are. We let our Light shine -- and we rejoice. We see it shining in others around us -- and we rejoice, and celebrate.

In Jesus Christ, our King, God became one of us to give us a power beyond our own power; to renew us; to overcome our spiritual and emotional fatigue; to win our freedom over bad habits; to move through the ongoing crisis of sickness and death triumphantly; to heal our broken relationships; to bring to fruition our dream of being effective, loving witnesses for Christ.

"The Word was made flesh and lived among us, and we saw His glory." In the Lord Jesus Christ, God became one of us to tell us that He loves us, and to tell us that our love for Him and our love for all our sisters and brothers, are inseparable!

The Apostle John zealously embraced the Cause of Christ. As a follower of the Master, his devotion and enthusiasm were unbounded. He had seen the Light, and from that moment on he was profoundly, radically and irreversibly changed -- from an ordinary fisherman to an extraordinary witness to the "Light that enlightens all men."

Emmanuel! God is with us! In the Lord Jesus, God is with us. Through the Lord Jesus, God is speaking to us. Through the Lord Jesus, God is calling us to greatness. Through the "Light that enlightens all men" God is asking us to play a unique role in human history. Through the Lord Jesus, God is telling us that He wants us for His own. Through the Lord Jesus, God is telling us that in order to become His own, we must love one another as He loves us. Through the Lord Jesus, God is calling us into His service in this way.

We are the servants of the Lord! Let it be done to us as He says! Love one another -- and you will have a truly Merry Christmas!!!

December 23, 2007
Matthew 1:18-24

December 16, 2008
Matthew 2:1-11

December 9, 2007
Matthew 3:1-12

December 2, 2007
Matthew 24:37-44

November 25, 2007
Luke 23:35-43.

November 18, 2007
Luke 21:5-19