Sermons at Holy Nativity Parish

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Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Isaiah 42:4, 6-7
My servant will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Remember the Holy Innocents, the text to Hymn 247, sung at end of sermon.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
bye-bye, lully lullay.

1. O sisters, too, how may we do
for to preserve this day
this poor youngling for whom we sing,
bye-bye lully lullay?

2. Herod the King, in his raging
charged he hath this day
his men of might, in his own sight,
all young children to slay.

3. That woe is me, poor child, for thee!
And every morn and day,
for thy parting not say nor sing
bye-bye, lully lullay.

Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
bye-bye, lully lullay.

First Sunday of Advent: Matthew 24:36-44 and Matthew 25:31-46

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The artist JR created a mural in conjunction with currently and formerly incarcerated people at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, California, in October. Read about it in The Marshall Project and download JR's app with the stories of each person.

Luke 23:33-43

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Prayer

BY FRANCISCO X. ALARCÓN
TRANSLATED BY FRANCISCO ARAGÓN

I want a god
as my accomplice
who spends nights
in houses
of ill repute
and gets up late
on Saturdays

a god
who whistles
through the streets
and trembles
before the lips
of his lover

a god
who waits in line
at the entrance
of movie houses
and likes to drink
café au lait

a god
who spits
blood from
tuberculosis and
doesn’t even have
enough for bus fare

a god
knocked
unconscious
by the billy club
of a policeman
at a demonstration

a god
who pisses
out of fear
before the flaring
electrodes
of torture

a god
who hurts
to the last
bone and
bites the air
in pain

a jobless god
a striking god
a hungry god
a fugitive god
an exiled god
an enraged god

a god
who longs
from jail
for a change
in the order
of things

I want a
more godlike
god

Isaiah 65:17-25, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-19

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In Times Like These by Ruth Jones
In times like these you need a Savior,
In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these you need the Bible,
In times like these, O be not idle;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior,
In times like these I have an anchor;
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,
This Rock is Jesus, the only One;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!