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“Our hope is not in our government to do the right thing. Our hope is in Jesus and in the assurance that in the end God’s love wins. This means we are still called to stand with our neighbors.”
“Ask yourself: What is my gift, knowledge, access, opportunity, privilege, connections, influence, or resources that I can lend to the cause of goodness, decency, and justice? Who can I call, boycott, or support? Where can I donate my time, talent, and money?”
At the heart of our baptismal vows is this same call from Jesus to each of us.
“Follow me” Jesus says.
“Stop being who you were supposed to be … and start being who you are meant to be.”
And what is that? Glad you asked.
Our baptismal promises call us to “persevere in resisting evil”, to “seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbors as ourselves”, and to “strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being.” This is our calling, in short, as those who were brought to the waters of baptism, vulnerable, often unable to speak for ourselves, by a community of love and care, we are sent out to be a people who care for the vulnerable. Our calling in baptism begins in community and is enacted in community—never alone.
“Look with awe at the glowing center where those with access gather. Look on the bright armor and blazing torches of battalions and be afraid.” After all, fear is the currency of empires, and so it must hold our gaze and teach us what we must fear. But the Christmas story is different. It pulls our focus.
“Note that in today’s Gospel, Joseph does not speak a single word. Joseph acts with quiet yet life-saving integrity. Perhaps Joseph has no words because, as Abraham Joshua Heschel says, ‘There is not enough grandeur in our souls to be able to unravel in words the knot of time and eternity.'”
We know what it’s like to hope that someone might meet our vulnerability with kindness instead of judgment. We know what it’s like to step out on the ledge of honesty and pray we won’t fall. And we also know this: Love grows in the spaces where we dare to be known.
“What does it mean for you to ABOUND in hope? Not a strip of hope, not a small piece of hope, not faking hope but overflowing, spilling over with, being filled with a brilliant testimony of hope. Advent hope is not quiet; it is contagious.”
Imagine if someone told you that next year Thanksgiving would be different. It would happen sometime in 2026, but you wouldn’t know the exact date, time, or even who the guests would be. How would you prepare? How could you plan for such an event? After all, food has a shelf life, and anyone who has cooked a turkey knows it doesn’t thaw overnight. Preparation is essential.
by the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya Watch the sermon recording on YouTube.
The destruction of evil can become more than a mere distraction. The destruction of evil can become an idol. When we stare too long at the evil being done, we might unconsciously become so obsessed with destruction, that we forget God’s Present Continuous creation.
Jesus’ answer points to the Sadducees’ lack of imagination, what it could mean to live in a world unafraid of death. What would that world look like? Can you imagine it? Jesus isn’t telling us that such a world wouldn’t have marriage. He’s telling us that such a world would not have systems that keep people stuck, trapped, or captive. Such a world would allow us to imagine who we truly are, to become even more fully who God created us to be, without fear or shame.
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