Deus Misereatur

["Mother and Child" watercolor by Jehuda Rodan (1916-1985). Accessed on 24 December 2018 at Kodner ] ( The audio file is here ) Christmas Eve 2018 God Sent Forth his Son, Born of a Woman Galatians 4.1-7 ALMIGHTY God, who has given us your unique, one-of-a-kind, only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we, being regenerate and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit ever, one God. Amen. It’s an interesting situation. Paul could have said other things or just left well-enough alone, but he follows the path of the Gospel records to emphasize what would have been fairly unpopular in his day. It’s like he’s piling on objectional statements, one right after the other, stacking them on thick. And each statement is a classification in its own right.   When the fullness of time had come – not ...

[If you find this homily useful and would like to use it at your Christmas Eve Service, you have my permission. Mike] For Us and For Our Salvation Luke 2.1-20 (Here's the audio file ) One of the disheartening trends of our day is that everything – every action, every literary work, every religious expression, every relationship, etc. – Is being viewed as some kind of power struggle. Even in the Da Vinci Code , Dan Brown brings out this charge against Christianity: “It was all about power.” Maybe this will surprise you, but Brown’s right – It was all about power. And we Christians have believed this from the very beginning – God’s power poured out For Us and For Our Salvation! --- The Contrast : Caesar – Stepping up to rule from above. 2.1-3 – power to move whole people-groups. Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. Became the lone ruler of the Empire after a bloody civil war in which he defeated Mark Antony. He turned what was once a republic into an E...