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On Christmas Eve of 1918, the world had just gone through four years of World War I.  Nearly a generation of people were wiped out due to war and disease.  Unfortunately, the world was in the throes of the flu pandemic as well.  However, at the chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, a service that had been created thirty-eight years earlier by the Anglican Bishop of Truro, England, E. W. Benson, was adapted to fit this service.  Nine scripture readings are then followed by a carol either sung by the choir or the congregation.

These nine scriptures from Genesis, Isaiah, Luke, Matthew, and John trace the Love Story that describes humanity’s banishment from paradise, a promise to a barren couple, the promise of peace, the promise of a Savior, the birth of the Savior, and the Word Made Flesh who was present at the beginning before the world was created.  This Festival of Lessons and Carols proclaim that God would do anything to reconcile our relationship with God including sending us Jesus Christ:  God Made Flesh.

May you be blessed by the Word proclaimed in music and in speech.

Christ’s Peace,

Pastor T. Wes Moore

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John has no title.  John is not given the title “John the Baptist” or “John the Baptizer”.  He is simply John.  And John has one purpose:  To testify to the Light.

In verse twenty, after being asked by the religious leaders if he was the Christ, John didn’t simply deny that he was the Christ.  John CONFESSES he’s NOT the Christ.  That takes courage.

I think it’s easier to simply deny.  But, to confess takes more courage!  John, who was successful in his ministry across the Jordan in Bethany where priests and Levites came because they noticed there was something special about him, could have merely denied.  Instead, he confesses he’s NOT the Christ.  And in that confession, he continues that he is a voice in the wilderness who proclaims that the LORD, who is standing among them who they don’t even recognize, is about to arrive on the scene.  John proudly proclaims that he is pointing to the Light, Life, Word, and Way who is Jesus Christ.

As we continue on into the Advent Season, let us be mindful of John’s courage.  Let us continue to live our lives pointing to Jesus Christ who is the Light, Life, Word, and Way for the world.

Beloved, believe this Good News!

Peace,

Pastor T. Wes

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Mark is the oldest and shortest of the four Gospels.  The word “gospel” itself means “good news”.  And Mark begins this book with the words “[t]he beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, God’s Son…”.

Compared to the other three Gospels, Mark gets right down to business.  He places us immediately in the action.  Verses one through three give us the connection from the prophets to this Gospel and then…..BAM!  John the Baptizer is on the scene by verse four declaring that Jesus is coming.

What gets me every time I read these eight verses, however, is the phrase found in verse one:  “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, God’s Son…”.

What is “the beginning of the good news”?  What is the beginning of the good news in light of 2020 and all of the tragedy we have experienced as a human family?

Mark begins the Gospel with Good News and continues to unpack that Good News with each verse and chapter that follow.  And what is that Good News?  That God loved us so much that God would send us Jesus, the embodiment of God’s love, to live as one of us and that by the Spirit’s transforming power of love, we change our hearts and lives to reflect the love shown to us.

As we continue to Christmas and into 2021, may Mark’s words encourage you.  May you experience the Good News that has no end.  May you experience the Good News that continues to give us hope and encouragement in the days ahead.

Christ’s Peace,

Pastor T. Wes Moore

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The Hebrews are in their third month of the journey toward the Promised Land.  They are hungry and have suddenly forgotten God’s powerful acts that brought them from captivity to freedom.  Times are tough for them and already, people are ready to go back to slavery because they at least had their fill of bread and meat.

It’s human nature, but the Israelites have quickly forgotten the LORD’s mighty deeds:  Plagues against their adversaries, the first Passover, and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army drowning in the sea as the Israelites safely crossed over.  Yet, how does God respond?  The way God always responds:  Graciously.  God provides the great congregation of Hebrews the food they need in the desert.

However, there is a catch.  Do not save any food overnight.  Each day, God will provide enough.  Each day, they are to collect just enough for their families.  On the sixth day, they will collect double so they can rest on the Sabbath.

Yet, some people didn’t trust God.  They hoarded.  And the food that remained overnight became rotted and infested with worms.  God told the people that there would be enough daily food and for them not to worry.

God has given us enough to face the day as we journey toward like our ancestors did all those years ago.  Sometimes, though, we allow fear and anxiety get to us and we hoard.  Afraid there may not be enough.  Afraid to give freely as God has given.  Yet, here it is in Exodus 16:19-20, hoarding does no one any good, even the hoarders.

Beloved in Christ, let us remember that God gives us the daily bread we need and to cast all our anxieties on God.  God is leading us forward in this desert called 2020 and God is calling us to continue to graciously give of our resources-money, time, and talent-to continue to honor and glorify God and care for each other.

Believe this Good News!

Christ’s Peace,
Pastor T. Wes Moore

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Moses is now an adult and he is fleeing for his life!  Pharaoh knows what he did.  So, he makes it to Midian and there he meets his future wife and he settles and they have a son.

Pretty impressive.

But, at the end of chapter two, more time passed, the Israelites are crying out in terror, and God heard the cries.  God remembered the covenant God had made with the matriarch and patriarch of the Hebrews-Sarah and Abraham.

That’s even more impressive.  Decades have passed from Exodus 1 to the end of chapter two.

Back to Moses.  He has an encounter with God at the burning bush.  God is commissioning Moses to go back to Egypt to rescue the Hebrews from slavery and genocide.  Eventually, Moses asks: Who do I say sent me when the Hebrews ask?  God responds: I Am Who I Am.  I AM has sent you.

Some commentators interpret “I Am Who I Am” as “I Will Be Who I Will Be.”  Regardless, it’s a mysterious and bizarre reply.

And maybe that’s part of the point of Exodus.  God’s timing is not our timing.  God’s name is something we can’t comprehend.  By the time Moses comes back to Egypt, at probably 100 years have passed since the beginning of the book.  Maybe more.  God’s name reveals to us of God’s nature.  “I Am Who I Am”.  The One who was and is and is to come.  The Father and Creator of the world and the One who promised a nation who would be the envy of all nations to an elderly barren couple.

This covenant that God remembered at the end of Exodus 2 is why God acted.  Yes, God had compassion, no doubt.  But, it is remembering the covenant that had been made all those years before to a childless couple is why God acted.  The same covenant would be there to remind not only God, but also Moses, his successors, and all the Hebrews throughout history.

I AM is still up to something, friends.  God’s not finished.

Beloved in Christ, believe this Good News!

Christ’s Peace,

Pastor T. Wes Moore

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The Hebrews had been in Egypt for some time.  Joseph, his brothers, and all who knew them had died.  A new king came to power in Egypt who did not know Joseph and he feared the Israelites.  Pharaoh forced the Hebrews into work gangs and enslaved them.  That wasn’t enough.  So, he commanded two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to murder any Hebrew baby boys born.

The two women resisted this evil law because they respected the LORD.  Shiphrah and Puah are the first people in Exodus to stand up to tyranny.  Because of them, the people of Israel grew in number despite the threat of genocide.  Shiphrah and Puah paved the way for Moses.

Two midwives working within a dangerous situation were given the spirit of courage from the LORD to fight against evil.  Their legacy is felt throughout Exodus and beyond which is to love the LORD God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Despite the perceived cost of their disobedience of an evil law thousands of years ago, the LORD used these two humble women to help save an entire nation.

Friends in Christ, believe this Good News!

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Typically, this story is called the “Feeding of the 5,000”, but women and children were also present as we’re told in verse 21, so the number is probably closer to 20,000.  Regardless, that’s a lot of people Jesus feeds in an isolated area.

This story happens after Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, was beheaded by King Herod.  Jesus is grieving and he needs some alone time.  But, the people follow him anyway and he can’t be alone.  His compassion takes over and Jesus heals those who are in need.  The crowds get bigger and bigger and the disciples take notice.  “How are we going to feed these people?  We should send them away, Jesus!”

But Jesus commands the disciples to give the people something to eat.  Yet, all the disciples can find are five loaves of bread and two fishes.  Obviously, that’s not enough to feed the masses, right?  For Jesus, he takes what’s available and he makes a feast out  of almost nothing.  Whomever had this food originally gave what they had and Jesus blessed the bread and fish and everyone was full, plus there were leftovers!

This story tells us that no matter what we think we have or don’t have, God’s going to use it and, ultimately, use us.  God doesn’t call only those with deep pockets, God calls each of us with varied talents and other resources.  Because God is abundant and freely gives, we are not to hoard our resources, we are to give.  Give of ourselves, give of our money, and give of our time.  Even when things are tough, like the moment each of us are facing in this global crisis, it is easy to fall into the trap of scarcity, yet, even if we think all we have are five loaves of bread and two fishes and we want to keep them for ourselves, Jesus looks through our eyes and into our souls and says:  Bring them here to me.

Beloved in Christ, believe this Good News!

Christ’s Peace,

Pastor T. Wes Moore

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Jesus gives us 6 parables and an explanation to a previous one in these verses.  They all describe what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, yeast, hidden treasure, a merchant searching for a pearl, etc.  To the 1st century audience, they can understand this imagery a little more than we as 21st century Christians can.  Although, there are some that are not completely foreign to our ears when we hear them.  Yet, for our ancient ancestors, they lived in agrarian societies and were subjects of Rome.  Compared to the Empire of Rome, the Kingdom of Heaven is totally strange.

Maybe that’s the point.  The Kingdom of Heaven is strange.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a little mustard seed or the yeast that become something bigger because God provides the growth.  Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a hidden treasure or a merchant finding a valuable pearl.  Like the treasure or the pearl, the Kingdom of Heaven, once it is found, elicits overwhelming joy in the person who is led to it.

The Kingdom of Heaven is around us and inside us.  It is a present reality and a future reality.  It does not rise and fall like ancient or modern empires, like Rome.  It is eternal.  The Kingdom of Heaven persists because God continues to move in our world.

Siblings in Christ, believe this Good News!

Christ’s Peace,

Pastor T. Wes Moore

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