MAC KIRK

  Luke 1:26-38----Advent Possibilities and Surprises "The greatest thing about Christmas  is the surprises. When else in life do you get to pile 10, 20, 30, 40 sometimes 50 surprises all together and sit for an hour enjoying each of them? One after another, surprise after surprise. Christmas  is wonderful in that way. I can remember still today the way I felt as a child, the amazement, the astonishment of Christmas morning. Chuck Swindoll writes, "surprises come in many forms and guises: some good, some borderline amazing, some awful, some tragic, some hilarious. But there's one thing we can usually say -- surprises aren't boring." Surprises are woven through the very fabric of all our lives. They await each one of us at unexpected and unpredictable junctures. I like the story about a professor who sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that days mail and papers at his desk and he began to shuffle through the...

  3rd Sunday in Advent.  Rose Sunday. Rejoice. I Thessalonians 5:12-23; Gospel-John 1:6-8,19-28 That blessed saint, Helen Keller once wrote: "Christmas is the harvest time of love. Souls are drawn to other souls. All that we have read and thought and hoped comes to fruition at this happy time. Our spirits are astir. We feel within us a strong desire to serve. A strange, subtle force, a new kindness animates man and child. A new spirit is growing in us. No longer are we content to relieve pain, to sweeten sorrow, to give the crust of charity. We dare to give friendship, service, the equal loaf of bread and love." Peace, power and purpose. "The light shines in the darkness…" In these very busy days of preparation, may His peace, His power and His purpose dwell in our hearts. Helen Keller DAILY MEDITATION | DECEMBER 14, 2023 Joy Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world. It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our ...

  MARK 1:1-8 Advent II “ The way of the Lord must be prepared within the heart; for great and spacious is the heart of man, as if it were a whole world. But see its greatness , not in bodily quantity, but in the power of the mind which enables it to encompass so great a knowledge of the truth. Prepare, therefore, in your hearts the way of the Lord, by a worthy manner of life. Keep straight the path of your life, so that the words of the Lord may enter in without hindrance.” Origen Today I want to talk about beginnings. Now we are in a time of preparation . The Candle of Hope has drawn us to the Candle of Preparation in today’s Gospel from Mark 1:1-8. Hope draws us to the light of Christ. In that Light we have life. We have Good News. “ The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God …” 1:1 Good News or Glad Tidings. The Greek word here describes the effect of Good News from a distance runner who has come to the battlefield to let the warriors know that the war is over. He h...

  Mark 13:24-37;  I Cor 1:3-9;  Isaiah 64:1-9 --- Advent I "The readings are filled with hope, but also with warnings about what is coming, a doom we cannot grasp or even really conceive. One shall be taken, and one shall be left. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world. Judgment is upon us; as in horror movies, real violence is about to irrupt into our daily round of manageable, pettifogging wickedness. The music is full of a beautiful gloom. Ever since I was a child we sang progressively more verses of “O Come O Come Immanuel” around the dinner table every night, in that characteristic medieval minor key. O come, Thou Dayspring from on high And cheer us by Your drawing nigh Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death’s dark shadow put to flight " by Clare Coffey "Here is the message of Advent: faced with him who is the Last, the world will begin to shake. Only when we do not cling to false securities will our eyes be able to see thi...

  A Juxtaposition of Judgment and Love---a new Take Christ the King Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46 "Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."  BCP Today we see a juxtaposition ( the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect) of judgment and love. It is a literary device to do this.  Moby Dick contrasted the sea with the land for ex.  Other examples of juxtaposition are: " Dark, light. Despair, hope .  Juxtapose means to place two or more things side by side, often with the intention of comparing or contrasting them or to create an interesting effect.  Sweet sorrow is another ex. We...

  Pre-Thanksgiving.  Serving God in the Hard Times Luke 17:10-19 The theme that runs through the lessons appointed for today's study and meditation is one of a question. We must all deal with it,. Some of us have not dealt with it very well. And others see how we react. The questions relate is "How do we serve God/love God/ in the hard times?" My theology professor used to say that God does not give Christians any easier life in this life or all would see the temporary benefits and become Chrislians. NO---God is calling us in grace and love to serve Him, not because we can get something, but because of Who He is. He is worthy of our love and worship. C.S.Lewis said there are two kinds of people: those who say to God " Thy will be done " and those to whom God says" A11 right then, have it your way." Do you see the difference? we talk a lot today about self esteem and how we feel. I would propose that if we do not put God first and our spiritual relation...

  Marriage Feast and the Lamps .  Matthew 25     There seems to be no way to get around the final nature of the shut door and , " I do not know you" in this section of Scripture.  Positively, we can say that half of the women with the lamps had their lamps full of oil and were filling it when the Bride arrived unexpectedly and later.  Some of them were not true subjects of the King to be so ill-prepared .     Salvation is not just saying yes to Jesus.  It is really saying yes in our lives , and being aware of what is going on around us in our life and in the lives of others.  We cannot give salvation to those who will not believe and be prepared. This is illustrated by the women who could not fill their lamps .  They had no oil. They were out.    Yet they asked the Lord to open the door despite their lack of preparation .  Lord, , " Lord , open to us."  Vs 11.  The others went in vs 10 being ready.  But...