Proclaim by Word and Example

This sermon was preached on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The texts for this sermon were:  Isaiah 62:6-12 ,  Titus 3:4-7 ,  Luke 2:(1-7)8-20 , and  Psalm 97 . The way I thought about Christmas completely changed for me when I watched my sister give birth to my nephew in November of last year. I’ll spare you the details but I will say this: watching one human you love give birth to another human being is an incredibly sacred experience. No one had warned me, though, for the moment right after my nephew arrived. He was blue and unmoving when they placed him on my sister’s belly and I swear my heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe until he did, slowly stirring into life. In that moment, I felt how just thin the veil is between life and death, how much we all just hang in the balance. Now this will not come as surprise any of the parents here. My nephew had only been in the world for a few heartbeats. The only thing he’d at this...

This sermon was preached on Sunday, December 22 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Wellesley, MA. The texts for this sermon were:  Isaiah 7:10-16 ,  Romans 1:1-7 ,  Matthew 1:18-25 , and  Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 . Last spring, the Boston Handel and Haydn Society orchestra was just finishing up another spectacular performance of a Mozart piece. As the final notes of the opus faded away, the customary hush fell over the audience, everyone holding their breath. But then “Wow!” – a small child’s awestruck voice broke the silence. The whole auditorium titters, then laughs, then breaks into heartfelt applause. They’re caught up with him, with that small child, in his “Wow!”  After the concert, the president of the orchestra was so charmed by the moment that he tracked down the child to thank and meet him. Turns out he’s a nine-year-old boy on the autism spectrum who is absolutely in love with classical music. His grandfather explained that his grandson’s autism mea...