Above: Nativity of Christ
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
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Christmas and Easter remind me of graduation in a way; orations at each of these events are usually rehashes of old material. That is not necessarily negative, of course. Ministers, of all people, must be keenly aware that they are delivering Christmas or Easter sermon #9, frequently repeated. How can reality be otherwise?
Isaiah 9:2-7 (or 9:1-6, if one is Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox) is a familiar passage. Like so many familiar passages, it contains subtexts one might easily ignore when going on autopilot. Depending on how one reads Hebrew verb tenses, the ideal king described is most likely Hezekiah (reigned 727/715-698/687 B.C.E.), son of Ahaz. One can read of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-32. One finds, however, that Hezekiah, although pious, was a deeply flawed man. The ideal king of the Davidic Dynasty, then, remains a hoped-for figure for many. Christian tradition identifies this prophecy with Jesus, born in Luke 2.
God is the King of the Earth, and salvation is available to all people, we read. Yet we know that many people refuse and will reject that offer. We also know that grace, although free to us, is never cheap to us, if it is to be effective. Divine generosity to us imposes certain moral obligations upon us. We have mandates, for example, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. That high calling leads to legal jeopardy sometimes, especially when the “king,” regardless of title, does not strive to be an ideal ruler and certainly falls far short of that standard.
Amid the reigns of wicked potentates and exploitative economic-judicial-educational systems I write
Merry Christmas!
to all of you. Remember that God is in charge and will judge people with equity and justice. That is good news for some and terrifying news for others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 16, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBALD OF OSTEVANT, RICTRUDIS OF MARCHIENNES, AND THEIR RELATIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM KUDUNAIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT; AND SAINT MARY OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CACCIAFRONTE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MEGINGAUD OF WURZBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND BISHOP
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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