Ghosts and Orphans of Christmas Past, I: Problem Pregnancies

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Ghosts and Orphans of Christmas Past, I: Problem Pregnancies

2024 Advent & Christmas

December 1, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Luke 1:5–80

When Oliver Cromwell and his fellow Puritans and Parliamentarians wrested control of England, Scotland, and Ireland from King Charles I in the middle of the seventeenth century, they did some really good things for England, like crushing the religious monopoly of the Church of England and putting the British monarchy in its proper place, but there were some regrettable outcomes too.

The first thing Cromwell and the Puritans did was chop off the heads of all the statues in the glorious cathedrals of England, and the second thing they did was to outlaw Christmas.

Ghosts and Orphans of Christmas Past, III: From time to time they all joined in the chorus

December 15, 2024 • Katie Lancaster • Luke 1:46–55

Poet E. E. Cummings writes “I thank you, God, for most this amazing day…everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.”#_ftn1 But if Scrooge is any semblance of proof, we don’t always start at “thank you.” We don’t always start awake to “most this amazing day.” There are bah-humbug days. There are days drenched in grump, when you’d rather sulk and be sullen, a kind of curmudgeon, than admit that it might be possible that, as the choir sang “the world is about to turn.”#_ftn2 Some days we show up as Scrooge, unable to awaken to the advent possibility of joy just beyond the horizon. #_ftnref1 Cummings, E. E. Selected Poems. Edited by Richard S. Kennedy. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1991, p. 167. #_ftnref2 The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), hymn #100, "Canticle of the Turning."

Ghosts and Orphans of Christmas Past, II: Fathers and Guardians

December 8, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 1:18–25

Mother Mary was probably 15 years old when she was betrothed to the handsome Carpenter with the cabinet shop down the block from her house. Tradition has it that he was considerably older than she, maybe 30 years old, or twice as old. When Joseph hears the shocking news that his fiancée is expecting, he is stunned, hurt, and seething. And then he has this dream. “Joseph, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife,” says this phantasmagoria from his somnolent unconscious. “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child within her is of the Holy Ghost, and she will bear a son, and you shall call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.” What do you want from me, Jacob?” says Scrooge to the unearthly phantasmagoria. “Much!” says Marley’s ghost. [...]

WDJA (What Did Jesus Ask?) XII: Who do you say that I am?

November 24, 2024 • William A. Evertsberg • Matthew 16:13–20

Jesus lived his life in the interrogative mood. He asked 307 questions in the four Gospels, including the two I read a moment ago: “Who do people say that I am?” he asks his disciples. They answer. Jesus likes their answer. And then he asks a much more personal question: “And who do YOU say that I am?” One of his disciples named Simon Bar Jonah gets the right answer: “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” Jesus likes this answer, so he says to Simon, “From now on, I’m going to call you Peter.” In Greek, you see, “Peter” sounds like the Greek word for “Rock.” “You are Peter, and on this Rock, I will build my Church.” In the first century, “Peter” was not a given name; it was not a name you christened your baby with; it was a nickname. From then on, Jesus calls Simon “Rocky.” He probably even sounded like Rocky Balboa.