Sermon: “The Art of ReGifting: REFLECT”, Luke 1:46-55 (December 7, 2025)

Last week we began our Advent series by considering why we need to fully receive and appreciate God’s gifts to us before we regift them to others. Without taking this first step in the process, we can’t explain why the gift is significant to us and why we want to pass it on. But as good as it feels to name the ways that God has blessed us, we can’t afford to get stuck on this step. Personal gratitude for God’s gifts is important, but it does very little to advance God’s kindom or make disciples on its own. So this week, we’re turning to Mary once again in order to learn what we should do next: the second step in regifting what God has given us. 

Liturgy: Advent 2: Reflect, Luke 1:46-55 (December 7, 2025)

    *You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know that you have either used or adapted it.*

Hymns

Hymn GTG #100, “My Soul Cries Out” [vv. 1-3]

Hymn GTG #86, “The People Who Walked in Darkness” [vv. 1-3]

Liturgy, Advent 3: The X(mas) Files: WHEN?, Psalm 13/Luke1:46-55 (December 17, 2023)

*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*

Hymns:

Hymn GTG #82, “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”

Hymn GTG #92, “Sing Out, My Soul”
Hymn GTG #384, “Soon and Very Soon”

Hymn GTG #100, “My Soul Cries Out”

Sermon: "Expectations Defied: Jesus", Luke 1:46-55 (December 20, 2020)

(This is the fourth of five sermons in our Advent series about our expectations around the holiday season. The others can be found here, here, and here.)

----------------------------------------------------------

This beautiful passage from Luke is known “The Magnificat”. It’s the song that Mary sings because she’s overcome with joy and gratitude at all the wonderful things God was doing through her. If you run in social circles that include a lot of clergy (like I do), it’s alternatively known as Mary’s preemptive response to the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” In this song, the singer asks, again, and again, whether Mary knew that Jesus wasn’t your average child, that he was more than just a baby. And in the Magnificat, Mary’s answer is, “…Duh. Of course I know this kid is special.” The lyricist may have thought that he was dropping a major bombshell on her, but Mary had already made it clear that she knew exactly what she was getting into from the very beginning. 

Sermon: “Imago Dei: In the Image of God’s Body”, Psalm 139:13-18/Luke 1:26-33, 38 (December 15, 2019)

(Week 3 in our Advent series on how we reflect God's Image--
previous weeks' sermons can be found here and here)

*To expand upon the disclaimer in the sound file: this was a particularly challenging sermon to write because everyone has a different relationship with their body, and I know that talking about bodies can be painful for different people in a million different reasons. In addition to the footnote I added below, I want to reaffirm here: your body is holy, not because of what it looks like or how it works, but because of what you use it for. And as long as you're using it to love others and share God with the world, you're doing it right.

If you're still in the middle of coming to terms with what your body is or isn't, what it can or cannot do, know that God is with you in that journey, and that no matter where you end up and what you discover, God will still love, cherish, and value you just as much as when God knit you together in your mother's womb.  --KSW 

---------------------------------------------------------------

Human bodies have long been a point of contention in Christian communities. Although we worship an incarnate God, our own bodies have at times become targets of disdain and disgust. Historically, certain groups have seen the body as inferior to the spirit because of its finite and corruptible nature. They see physicality as something impure to be endured and transcended if at all possible. Individually, many of us see our own bodies as an inconvenience or a burden. For some of us, chronic illness or even just normal aging can make us question if having a body is worth the pain that we suffer because of it. Whether for functional or aesthetic reasons, most of us have been unhappy with our bodies at one time or another.