Rev Chris Roth

  Isaiah 52: 7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1: 1-12; John 1: 1-14 On Christmas Eve, we celebrate one of the two most holy and profound events in human history. It is an event that changed the way we think about recording time. We live in "the year of our Lord" 2024. As many of you know, that is what A.D. means- Ano Domini- "Year of our Lord". We have split all of human history into B.C. ("Before Christ", which is English for historical reasons), and the time after Christ was born (A.D.). Even if you are someone who doesn’t believe in miracles, or that Jesus was divine, that is a profound effect to have on the world. This is a person who has had such an impact that most human beings record time according to the year of his birth. [1] Jesus was born to a woman who didn’t have any particular reason for history to notice her, apart from being his mother. She was betrothed to a man, who likewise, didn’t really stand out from the crowd. He was a descendant of King D...

  Genesis 2:4b–9,15–25; Isaiah 40: 1–11; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Baruch 4:36–5:9; Isaiah 65:17–25: Luke 1:26-38; Our Advent Lessons and Carols service today takes us on a journey. We begin with the creation story, and we are reminded of the first human beings, who were made in the image of God and tasked with caring for creation. They were to reflect God’s image to the rest of creation. The first human beings were to act as priests, and creation was a kind of Temple, with Eden as the Holy of Holies. But we know that this ideal state didn’t last, and they took the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and bad. And perhaps because they weren’t ready for it yet, they were removed from the garden. All they knew was good and now they would gain experiential knowledge of the bad. Life would become difficult. Then their child Cain murdered his brother, and the infection of sin spreads through humanity like a disease. But God didn’t leave humanity in that state. God set in motion a plan...

Zephaniah 3: 14-20; Isaiah 12: 2-6; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 7-18 Today, on the third Sunday of Advent, we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” is Latin for “Rejoice”. … Advent is a pretty penitential season. It can feel a bit like Lent. We are encouraged to renew our life of repentance- to look into our life and see if there is anything that needs to be corrected as we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ. … So, Gaudete Sunday stands out because it includes fairly positive readings in a season that is quite penitential. For example, our reading from Zephaniah is full of joy. We are told to sing, to rejoice, to shout because, we read,  “The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies; The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.” (Zeph 3:15).   “He will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival” (vv17-18).   Zephaniah records God as sayi...

Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 1: 3-11; Luke 3: 1-6 John the Baptist is the primary spokesperson for Advent. And it seems very appropriate that we would have a baptism on the same Sunday that we are reading about John the Baptist. We read that John was  “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight’” (3:3-4).  So, in our reading, baptism is connected to repentance, which means something like a change of mind, … and it is connected to making a straight path for God. A straight path is an easier path to travel. And this implies that the path is not always straight. We can do something to straighten out that path. We usually hear the word ‘repentance’ in a pretty negative way. I think that’s because we tend to see repentance as merely a turning away from something bad. And sometimes ...

Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13; Luke 21: 25-36 Today we are starting a new year in the church’s calendar. The Church year always begins with Advent. Advent is a season that brings a certain level of tension. In large part this is because our society seems to have largely given up on seasons of fasting (unless it’s for health reasons). Advent has traditionally been like Lent. It is a time of spiritual preparation. The traditional themes for reflection in Advent are the four last things: death, judgment, hell, and heaven. Which are pretty intense themes. I don’t see a lot of those images around this time of year. … So, our society is ready for Christmas, but the church is in Advent, and instead of hearing heart-warming stories about the baby Jesus or pregnant Mary on her way to Bethlehem, we hear readings calling us to repentance, and warning us to prepare for a coming judgement. Our Gospel reading comes immediately after a section talking about the destructi...

Revelation 1: 4b-8; John 18: 33-37 Today is “Christ the King” Sunday, or “Reign of Christ” Sunday. It marks the very end of the church calendar. It brings us to the ultimate pinnacle of history, which is the recognition of all of creation that Christ is the ruler of all. This Sunday points to the day when all things will be put under his kingship. God’s kingdom, which is here in part, but not yet fully here, will one that day grow to engulf all of creation. On that day all things will be as they should be. Our reading from Revelation says that Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth” and that when he comes “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”. Even his enemies, those who rejected him, will recognize him for who he is. In our Gospel reading Jesus stands before one of those enemies. As a prisoner, standing before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, Jesus is asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” It is a small question. “Are you claiming some kind of leadership among...