Rev Chris Roth

Luke 2: 22-40 Again, we have this Epiphany theme, where we see a glimpse that gives us a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. The Magi knelt before him and we saw him as the king of Israel. … When he was baptized, the voice of the Father identified Jesus as the Son of God. … In his first miracle in the Gospel of John at a wedding at Cana, we saw Jesus identified as someone who could do miracles, and as one who would bring new covenant wine out of old covenant stone jars. … And last week we saw Jesus preaching in his hometown, saying that the Scriptures point to him. In our Gospel reading, this theme is continued. Once again, we see Jesus as a baby. … As faithful Jews, Mary and Joseph had Jesus circumcised on the 8th day, as a sign of the covenant of Abraham and according to the Law of Moses. And he is presented at the temple 40 days after his birth (Lv 12; Deut 18:5; Ex 13:2,12,15). The Law required that an offering of an unblemished lamb be brought, or if the family is too po...

      First, it is good to define what we are talking about. MAID stands for Medical Assistance in Dying. This is the practice of a doctor or nurse practitioner using a medication taken orally or intravenously to end a persons life. This was made legal in 2016 with the introduction of Bill C-14, then expanded in 2021 by Bill C-7. A further expansion was delayed in 2024 (Bill C-62) to 2027 which will expand MAID to include mental illnesses. MAID is a euphemism, like “euthanasia” ( eu =good, thanatos =death). Instead of using terms like 'suicide,' 'assisted suicide,' or 'ending a person’s life,' which are more explicit but can sound harsh, the term MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) is used as it sounds more gentle. Using this kind of euphemism can be somewhat dangerous, however. During this talk a chaplain at a long-term care facility mentioned that they have had people request MAID, but when investigated it turns out that they thought they were requesting “p...