Sermon: The First Sunday after Christmas Day December 26, 2010 The Rev. R. Allan McCaslin Readings: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147; Galatians 3:32-35; 4:4-7; John 1:1-18
From this morning’s Collect, “Grant that (this Jesus Christ), this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives.” I speak to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A very Merry Christmas to you all and may this celebration continue in our hearts.
Our scripture lessons this morning are offered within the context of our Opening Collect which proclaims Jesus Christ as the light of the world. The fact that our collect prays God to enkindle that light in our hearts suggests that this light is not static. It needs to be fed and nurtured much like faith is never static. Faith grows through a lifetime of probing, asking questions, seeking answers, and letting it stretch our imaginations in new ways.
Isaiah tells us that his experience of faith in God caused him to rejoice in the Lord greatly. Through faith in God, Isaiah came to understand and experience God as someone who clothes, redeems, and saves. Isaiah describes God in active terms: “God has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” He describes these garments, this covering, as beautiful – the very best – like the clothing worn by brides and bridegrooms. Now, having experienced God’s presence and blessing, it is his abiding or continuing faith in God that pushes Isaiah to take action. He says, “I will not keep silent … I will not rest.” Such is the response of God’s people when we come to understand who God is and seek to put God first in our lives. This light of God, Christ himself, “shines out like the dawn and (his) salvation becomes like a burning torch.”
From this morning’s Collect, “Grant that (this Jesus Christ), this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives.” I speak to you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A very Merry Christmas to you all and may this celebration continue in our hearts.
Our scripture lessons this morning are offered within the context of our Opening Collect which proclaims Jesus Christ as the light of the world. The fact that our collect prays God to enkindle that light in our hearts suggests that this light is not static. It needs to be fed and nurtured much like faith is never static. Faith grows through a lifetime of probing, asking questions, seeking answers, and letting it stretch our imaginations in new ways.
Isaiah tells us that his experience of faith in God caused him to rejoice in the Lord greatly. Through faith in God, Isaiah came to understand and experience God as someone who clothes, redeems, and saves. Isaiah describes God in active terms: “God has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” He describes these garments, this covering, as beautiful – the very best – like the clothing worn by brides and bridegrooms. Now, having experienced God’s presence and blessing, it is his abiding or continuing faith in God that pushes Isaiah to take action. He says, “I will not keep silent … I will not rest.” Such is the response of God’s people when we come to understand who God is and seek to put God first in our lives. This light of God, Christ himself, “shines out like the dawn and (his) salvation becomes like a burning torch.”
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