Father Mulcahy's Christmas Eve sermon
Who: Father Mulcahy
What: Christmas sermon
Where: The church
When: Future dated to Christmas Eve
Status: Closed sermon--but if any characters want to socialize post-sermon, they're free to. Unfortunately, Father Mulcahy won't be available--he's busy playing Santa afterwards.
Rating: PG
"For my sermon this evening, first I'd like to read from the gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 1, verses eighteen through twenty-five. Please feel free to follow along in your Bibles.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel', which being interpreted is, God is with us.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
"Sometimes we tend to forget the uncertainty surrounding the birth of Jesus and the Christmas story. After all, any history becomes familiar after we hear it repeated often enough, and people have been repeating the story of the birth of Christ for nearly two thousand years. There's a tendency to see what did happen as what had to happen, not to question that it could've happened any other way.
In this passage of the gospel of St. Matthew, he reminds us of this uncertainty. After all, Joseph has never lain with Mary, and suddenly, she's pregnant. Joseph is an ordinary man; he must have had his doubts. Certainly Mary must have told him that she was pregnant without having known a man, and considering the unlikeliness of such a thing, Joseph must have wondered how such a thing could be possible. Which is exactly what St.Matthew tells us--Joseph considered sending Mary away so that she wouldn't be an object of public ridicule and shame. In fact, putting her away could mean that he was considering annulling their marriage. Apparently gossip in those days was much the same as it is now, and everybody else knew she hadn't slept with Joseph either. There would have been talk which would have been embarrassing to both of them, and quite justifiably, Joseph didn't know how to handle it. It took a visit from the angel of the Lord to square things away.
Not that this uncertainty was limited to Joseph. In the gospel of St. Luke, he tells us that when the angel of the Lord hailed Mary so profoundly, she was troubled. It must have been a peculiar moment--why is this angel making such a fuss over me? She didn't necessarily feel any better once he had explained things to her; she asked him how it would be possible for her to bear a child when she had never known a man. Because frankly, as embarrassed or worried as Joseph might have been, it must have been even more difficult to be Mary, to be pregnant without ever lying with a man and yet to know that, if you told people such a thing, they wouldn't be very likely to believe you. She must have worried terribly about how others would take the news, especially Joseph. After all, he was under no obligation to believe her, and if an angel hadn't explained things to him, he may not have.
Why is it important to remember the uncertainty? Well, it's important to remember that, although revered figures, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus Himself were all human. They had doubts and fears just as we do. No human being has ever known a life without uncertainty, not even the most divine. So at this time of celebration, when we repeat one of the most well-known stories, we must take time to remember the uncertainty that each person within the Christmas story faced. And that acknowledgment will remind us that when we face uncertainty in our own lives, we're not expected to be perfect.
And Aternaville is a more uncertain town than most. We come here unexpectedly, never sure how long we or those around us will stay. Sometimes our friends or our loved ones seem very far away from us here, and without their help, it's very difficult to determine the paths our lives will take without their help. But uncertainty is a part of every life, from the most holy to the most humble.
We're not expected never to make mistakes. All that is expected of us is to make the best decisions that we can and live the best lives we can knowing what we know at the time. And when we do this, it can truly be said that we are acting in the true spirit of Christmas.
Let us pray."
What: Christmas sermon
Where: The church
When: Future dated to Christmas Eve
Status: Closed sermon--but if any characters want to socialize post-sermon, they're free to. Unfortunately, Father Mulcahy won't be available--he's busy playing Santa afterwards.
Rating: PG
"For my sermon this evening, first I'd like to read from the gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 1, verses eighteen through twenty-five. Please feel free to follow along in your Bibles.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel', which being interpreted is, God is with us.
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
"Sometimes we tend to forget the uncertainty surrounding the birth of Jesus and the Christmas story. After all, any history becomes familiar after we hear it repeated often enough, and people have been repeating the story of the birth of Christ for nearly two thousand years. There's a tendency to see what did happen as what had to happen, not to question that it could've happened any other way.
In this passage of the gospel of St. Matthew, he reminds us of this uncertainty. After all, Joseph has never lain with Mary, and suddenly, she's pregnant. Joseph is an ordinary man; he must have had his doubts. Certainly Mary must have told him that she was pregnant without having known a man, and considering the unlikeliness of such a thing, Joseph must have wondered how such a thing could be possible. Which is exactly what St.Matthew tells us--Joseph considered sending Mary away so that she wouldn't be an object of public ridicule and shame. In fact, putting her away could mean that he was considering annulling their marriage. Apparently gossip in those days was much the same as it is now, and everybody else knew she hadn't slept with Joseph either. There would have been talk which would have been embarrassing to both of them, and quite justifiably, Joseph didn't know how to handle it. It took a visit from the angel of the Lord to square things away.
Not that this uncertainty was limited to Joseph. In the gospel of St. Luke, he tells us that when the angel of the Lord hailed Mary so profoundly, she was troubled. It must have been a peculiar moment--why is this angel making such a fuss over me? She didn't necessarily feel any better once he had explained things to her; she asked him how it would be possible for her to bear a child when she had never known a man. Because frankly, as embarrassed or worried as Joseph might have been, it must have been even more difficult to be Mary, to be pregnant without ever lying with a man and yet to know that, if you told people such a thing, they wouldn't be very likely to believe you. She must have worried terribly about how others would take the news, especially Joseph. After all, he was under no obligation to believe her, and if an angel hadn't explained things to him, he may not have.
Why is it important to remember the uncertainty? Well, it's important to remember that, although revered figures, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus Himself were all human. They had doubts and fears just as we do. No human being has ever known a life without uncertainty, not even the most divine. So at this time of celebration, when we repeat one of the most well-known stories, we must take time to remember the uncertainty that each person within the Christmas story faced. And that acknowledgment will remind us that when we face uncertainty in our own lives, we're not expected to be perfect.
And Aternaville is a more uncertain town than most. We come here unexpectedly, never sure how long we or those around us will stay. Sometimes our friends or our loved ones seem very far away from us here, and without their help, it's very difficult to determine the paths our lives will take without their help. But uncertainty is a part of every life, from the most holy to the most humble.
We're not expected never to make mistakes. All that is expected of us is to make the best decisions that we can and live the best lives we can knowing what we know at the time. And when we do this, it can truly be said that we are acting in the true spirit of Christmas.
Let us pray."