The Rev. Kristin Krantz, Christmas Eve Isaiah 9:2-7, Psalm 96, Titus 2:11-14, Luke 2:1-20 Merry Christmas! How are we all feeling tonight? Stressed about everything that still needs to be done? Relieved to have family arrive safe and sound and all be together? Grieving the loss of someone you desperately wish was here? Ready for a few minutes to catch your breath, enjoy…
As many of you know, I stan JRR Tolkien and his books, especially the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Every year or two I reread the them, and not unlike with scripture, every time I find something new that resonates. Tolkien was a master of mythology, lore, language, and history. He fought in World War I and watched the unfolding of World…
The Rev. Kristin Krantz St. James’, Mt. Airy 12/1/19 Advent 1A Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Though winter doesn’t officially start for a few weeks, it feels as if it has arrived. The days are short. The darkness comes early. By late afternoon most days, it starts to look as if the light is just about to go out.…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Today’s Gospel reading is the second-to-last week in a nearly six-month chronological walk through several chapters of Luke. Next Sunday we will celebrate Christ the King, and the end of this liturgical year. The Sunday after that the season…
Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less[1] – and because of this we are called to live by a…
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am…