~~~SisterSea~~~

  December 18 th , 2022   In a video segment we watched for last Thursday’s Advent Lectionary discussions, one of the presenters mentioned that there are two approaches to scripture: the historical critical method and the theological.   He stated that we should look at today’s readings with the theological lens.   However, I feel that we do scripture, and the theological lessons scripture provides when we discard the historical critical input.   I will return to this point at the end of this reflection but for now, let’s look at Matthew’s version of events. In Matthew’s infancy narrative, Joseph is the primary character. Like his namesake in Genesis chapter 37, he receives messages in dreams and must make decisions based on these messages.   (In Luke, it is Mary who receives a divine message and must choose.) Joseph, presented by Matthew as “a just man,” will not subject Mary to a public divorce.   Instead, he decides to terminate the marriage quietly. Joseph’s decision here mo

December 4, 2022 Artwork by Rev. Dr. Victoria Marie   Advent is a time when we prepare our hearts and minds to reflect on the meaning of the Incarnation, of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity coming into the world.    Scholars tell us it was not always so. “The four Sundays preceding the Feast of the Nativity focused attention on the awesome second coming of Christ as judge as well as on the first coming in humility.” [1]   If we keep both these ideas in mind, we can avoid concentration on the Christmas baby that can easily devolve into empty sentiment, totally devoid of the awe and the meaning of the Incarnation.     Today's readings from Isaiah and from the Gospel of Matthew may seem wishful thinking and hard to reconcile with the here and now of current events.   It may seem that with the wars in the Ukraine and Middle East, the triple threats of the flu, covid-19 and RSV, the climate crisis, that God has taken a holiday.   How do we reconcile the evil and suffering t