Sermons by Vicar Paul Eldred (Page 3)

If I asked you to envision God, what would God look like to you? What picture comes into your mind when you think of God?

If you’re at all like me, you may feel a little uncomfortable with today’s Gospel reading. These words that start what is perhaps Jesus’ most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, may be about as familiar as they are challenging. For many people, the list of beatitudes we heard a few minutes ago has become a list of ways to receive God’s blessings in our lives…

There’s a picture I haven’t been able to get out of my head for weeks now. My friend shared it on Facebook and its haunting image has been constantly on my mind. It shows a young couple – a man and a woman – walking through a desolate street. The man’s face is tired and shows a blank gaze as he balances his sleeping child in one arm and a medical IV drip in the other. The woman’s face is covered as the three hastily make their way down the street – their urgency is clear. In his post, my friend quoted today’s gospel text, “And so he arose, took the child and his mother by night, and fled into Egypt.” Because even though this was a picture taken just two weeks ago of a young family fleeing the advancing government forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo, it could just as easily be a picture from more than 2000 years ago of the Holy Family fleeing the advancing government forces in Bethlehem. Because my friend shared this picture just days before Christmas and because I knew that this was today’s appointed text, this is the image that has colored my celebrations this season…