I think that yesterday's sermon went well. You can read it in this blog post, and you can see it (which will have some additions to the text) through this video on my YouTube channel.
As I did my pre-writing, I thought about how postponing the Baptism of Our Lord Sunday gave me an interesting opportunity to make connections between John the Baptist, Jesus, Martin Luther King, and the inauguration (which gave me an opportunity to talk about modern politicians, who will never say the words of John the Baptist, "I am not the Messiah").
I didn't talk much about modern politics; I wanted a sermon that was more hopeful than that. As we looked at the recording of my sermon, my spouse said to me, "I don't think I've ever heard a sermon that connected John the Baptist, Jesus, and Martin Luther King Jr."
We will now get back on track with the Revised Common Lectionary. I am somewhat sad to miss the opportunity to preach on the Wedding in Cana and water turned into wine, but I think it's better to get back on track sooner rather than later.
We came back across the mountain in blowing snow, but at least it wasn't sticking, unlike two weeks ago. This winter is so different from last winter, in terms of weather that makes me question if our decision to travel was wise. But I'm glad that we had the opportunity to gather. I am glad that I had the opportunity to declare a message of hope. As I looked at the congregation, I was struck by how many families are dealing with heavy stuff: health stuff, death stuff, work stuff. Darker days may be coming, and I'm glad I didn't scrap the ending to my sermon.
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