Oh, Christmas fun how quickly you are over! My kids are already bored with most of their gifts. The Legos are built. The dolls are no longer new. Our living room is full of empty boxes, a stack of Christmas bags (for those of us who can’t wrap presents worth anything), are ready to recycle next year, and we gotta find some other ways to use turkey. It’s like the spirit of Christmas just left with the wind chill. I truly hope your Christmas spirit lasted longer than the bowl games.

Traditionally, for the Christians, Christmas was a season. Twelve days, give or take, ending in Epiphany, where they celebrated, depending on whether in the East or the West, the arrival of the wise men or the baptism of Jesus, respectively. Both are “epiphanies” or appearing. The wise men represent Jesus the King’s first appearance to Gentiles, signifying the good news is for Gentiles too. Jesus’ baptism, of course, is a whole different kind of public appearance.

Though I’m not Orthodox or even liturgical in my tradition, I like the idea of the good news of Christmas lasting just a bit longer than one sugar-filled morning. At least till I go back to work in January where I will need all the peace and good will I can get.

Sermons for January will continue the theme of “good news.” I want to start with taking another look at the Lord’s prayer in Matthew’s version of the good news. Then we’ll see where that takes us. As Jesus says in John 1:41, “Come and See.."                                          

                                        -Jonathan Miles

                                          Interim Pastor