Readings
First Reading Isaiah 12: 2-6 (CEB) God is indeed my salvation;
I will trust and won’t be afraid. Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my shield; he has become my salvation.” You will draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.
And you will say on that day: “Thank the Lord; call on God’s name; proclaim God’s deeds among the peoples; declare that God’s name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, who has done glorious things; proclaim this throughout all the earth.” Shout and sing for joy, city of Zion, because the holy one of Israel is great among you.
Second Reading Luke 3: 7-18 (CEB)
Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, “You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every
tree that doesn’t’ produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.”
The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” He answered, “Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He replied, “Collect no more than you are authorized to collect.” Soldiers asked, “What about us? What should we do?” He answered, “Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.” The people were filled with expectation, and everyone wondered whether John might be the Christ. John replied to them all, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than me is coming. I’m not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into
his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out.” With many other words John appealed to them, proclaiming good news to the people.
Week Three in the Series: The Inn: Housing the Holy
How Much is Enough (Joy)
There seems to be a lot of gloom and doom in the world today that is of course intensified but the pandemic. In this new Advent sermon series that will take us up through Christmas Eve, we will try to be focused on how God’s story is playing out in the midst of all that is harsh. And it is a story that points to an ending where everything has become new. The scriptures in this series point us to what is right and good and how we are to be in community together…caring with and for one another, especially the poor and will make us think about what it means to house the Holy.
