Father Snort

In Jesus' baptism, his old life died, and a new life began...the same happens for us in baptism, whether immediately or after years. Our lives can begin again many times, saying goodbye to the ghosts of the past.

In the Gentile Magi coming to visit Jesus, we understand Jesus to be savior for all, Jew and Gentile, and realize God is over all the tribes of the earth.

God didn't say, become divine that you may know me. God became human that we might know him.

Mary and Elizabeth were ecstatic over the coming brith of Jesus. They were rejoicing at the coming of the Messiah, and they were likely wrong about who they thought the Messiah would be. Like them, we see in a mirror dimly, and our hope is in God, for something even great than we can imagine.

How long must we wait for God to restore creation? When acts of violence like the shootings at Sandy Hook happen, I have difficulty waiting patiently. What are we to do in response? How can we hold on to hope?

John called people to repent and make straight the paths of God. We're called to tidy up the mess of our lives, asking God to help with our mess so that we might serve each other as priests, praying for each other, and helping each other to grow as disciples of Jesus.

Doomsday predictions have become very popular, but they miss the hope that is primary in Jesus' second coming. As Episcopalians, we need to reclaim the stories of the second coming, of the end times, and tell these as stories of hope.

The perfection of Jesus' kingdom can be daunting, something to which we cannot live up. So what? We needn't be perfect. Living in and striving for Jesus kingdom is not about perfection but about living beautifully with God's help, seeking correction and forgiveness, and living again with mistakes along the way...like making music.

We're waiting for the final restoration of creation whic Isaiah describes. While we wait, we don't know with certainty that our faith is not in vain. We can't know. We don't get to see God or our loved ones who have died so that we might believe in God and the resurrection. Rather, we believe in God and the resurrection and allow that belief to be real enough to change our lives, seeing joy, hope, peace, and love in the world.

Our faith tells us God will one day restore all of creation and wipe the tears from every eye. We believe that, and we have times of doubt which can lead to despair. Of the two wolfs within us, the one with hope and the one without hope, which one will we feed? In which world will we choose to live?

Seeking greatness and glory, Jesus' disciples forgot who they wereas God's people, called not to greatness, but to service, love, and devotion to God and neighbor. They were called to be a light to the nations, not to let the way of the nations become their way. They were called to be Advocates (following the Holy Spirit) rather than Adversaries (following Satan).

"The Rich Man" who wouldn't give up all his possessions to follow Jesus is often blasted as as sinner (as are rich people when referencing this passage). Jesus, however, does not condemn the man. He pities and and sympathizes with him. Jesus knows that God and life in God's kingdom is what the man truly wants, but all of his possessions make that realization difficult for the rich man.

As God's children, we are as important to God as children were to Jesus. The best way to know and love God and to know and love each other is to receive life, God’s kingdom, like a little child. Receive God’s kingdom, receive life with childlike innocence, with wonder, with trust and love, with dependence on God and others, with short memories of wrongs, with forgiveness, and playfulness.

"If you want to be who you want to be, you have to give up who you are." (www.guyforsyth.com) We have habits that are not helpful and can be harmful. If we truly want to live into the Kingdom of God, we need to change those bad habits.

The church is the bride of Christ, seeking to do good not out of a desire to try harder, be better, or one up another group, but rather out of love for Jesus.

Jesus calls Peter, "Satan", the Adversary, when he needed Peter to be guided by the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. James tells us we have springs of fresh and brackish water within us, leading us to speak blessings and curses. Cleaning the well, we can speak more blessing, acting through the Holy Spirit, rather than through the Adversary.

Faith without works is dead. What we do influences and reveals what our faith truly is. We're often tired and irritable, not particularly wanting to do good works. Perhaps Jesus understands. Perhaps he was feeling that way in his interaction with the Syrophoenician woman.

Jesus spoke against the Pharisees practice of religion, claiming they were hypocrites. Some read this passage and say Jesus didn't like religion. On the contrary, Jesus wanted us to practice our religion in ways that change our hearts to love God, love our neighbors, and help heal the suffering in the world.

We can't control people, nor can we control the world around us. Our faith in God tells us we don't have to. Things may not go our way. We plant seeds, and they grow or they don't grow. We give up control, root ourselves in and offer to other the rich soil of God and God's word.

Dwelling in Jesus and his words dwelling in us changes us. God is not a supernatural physician or holy vending machine to call upon in our hour of need. Rather, God is love, dwelling in us and inviting us to dwell in him.