Rev Chris Roth

Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-12; John 1:1-14 I once heard a seminary professor named Darrel Johnson describe a Christmas card he received. It had pictures of many famous and influential world leaders from history on the front. People like King Tut, Julius Caesar, Mao, Hitler. It said, “history is crowded with men who would be gods.” … Inside, there was a picture of a baby in a manger, and it said, “But only one God who would be man”. Human beings have often reached towards obtaining a divine status, and this was often seen as evidenced by the power these people could exert. Royalty throughout history was often associated with divinity. … Pharoah was thought to be a link between the Egyptian gods and humanity. The Pharoah was considered to be a god who provided order to the people. … Julius Caesar was considered to be a god shortly after his death, which was evidenced by a comet appearing in the sky during games held in his honour after his death. A later Caesar, Domitian, di...

Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20 One of my favourite things to do around Christmas is watch Christmas movies. The Grinch who stole Christmas. The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. The Disney version of the Christmas Carol with Scrooge McDuck. Home Alone. It’s a Wonderful Life. … Watching a Christmas movie, with an eggnog or hot chocolate in hand, with the Christmas tree glowing, that is one of my favourite things to do this time of year. These stories have the ability to make us reflect on our lives. Home Alone is about a boy who is left alone at home by accident, while his family goes on a trip to Paris. This little boy defends his home from thieves. Underneath the slapstick comedy there is a story about reconciliation with alienated family members. It’s a Wonderful Life is a story about how a person’s life matters and makes a difference in ways that are maybe not always obvious to them. Remove that person’s influence and there is a negative ripple effect in the lives of m...

  Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 1:46b-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John the Baptist are probably the two major figures of Advent. And we have both of them featured in our readings today. Mary’s song is a prophetic call for justice. A ‘prophetic’ call is a call to faithfulness to God and to live in a way that is consistent with that belief. It is to make God's desires known. Last week we heard John calling for repentance, and to produce evidence of that repentance, as a way of preparing the way of the Lord. Mary’s song, the Magnificat, is very well known in liturgical churches. In the Book of Common Prayer it is used at every service of Evening Prayer. … It is a song that is much like other songs that we find in the Bible- Like Miriam’s song, Debra’s song, and Hanna’s song. Mary’s song is a part of the bridge of continuity from the Old Testament to the new thing that God is about to do. The Magnificat has been a rallying prayer for the oppressed in m...

  Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 An Advent tradition in the church has been the singing the O Antiphons. This is a tradition that is thought to have originated around the 6th century (the 500’s). Usually, these 7 chants are sung along with the Magnificat [1] at Evening Prayer from December 17th to the 23rd. [2] These antiphons are short songs of expectation for Christ’s coming. Each of the seven songs gives a messianic title for Jesus. (Adding the “O” is an old grammatical way of shaping a vocative case, which is basically a name) -  O Wisdom,  O Adonai (Hebrew for “Lord”),  O Root of Jesse,  O Key of David,  O Morning Star,  O King of the Nations,  O Emmanuel (Hebrew for “God with us”).  The hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a paraphrase of these O Antiphons. Our reading from Isaiah today highlights one of these titles. The words of the chant are: “O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the people...