On 2nd Thought

After our Bible study this morning, I'm thinking that perhaps I was too hasty in eliminating the Gospel lesson from my preaching possibilities.  There is a lot going on that is easily overlooked when someone (me, perhaps) is too hasty in throwing up his hands at the RCL for giving us JBap two weeks in a row.

Time is short today, so my thoughts are as well.

John 1.26b - "Among you stand one whom you do not know..." - those who came seeking were still standing in darkness, the light of Christ had not yet illumined them.  I got to thinking about our Advent Wreath, how the center candle (the white one) remains unlit through Advent and the purple and pink candles mean to point us to that center one, but we fill in the space with a lot of stuff trying to make it all pretty.  And yet, when times are tough (like the funeral this afternoon) or in moments of celebration (like the wedding on Friday) the center candle will be the only one lit, filling in for the baptismal candle, reminding us that only one things sits at the center, Jesus the Christ.  So while we seek in the darkness, we remember that the center light has been lit, and will one day be lit again.

The Pharisees sent liturgists to challenge JBap.  - I mention this only to mention the old joke.

What is the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?

You can negotiate with terrorists.