“What Will You Do with Unexpected News?”
Luke 1:5-20; 57-66
Every time an angel shows up in the Christmas story, so do the words, “Do not be afraid.” That’s because in scripture, encounters with angels are not the soothing and reassuring twists of fate our culture has reduced them to. Far from being sweet meetings of assurance, visits from those divine messengers tend to disrupt our world with unexpected news that is not just unnerving and perplexing but will radically change the life you have planned.
When angels visit, they don’t ask whether we humans are available for God’s purposes. They come to announce what God is going to do through us. I think it is a common human trait that we think we are in control of our lives, that we are in charge of our destinies. But then suddenly, we get unexpected news. It may be positive news – a new baby, a great new job opportunity in another state; sometimes it may be negative news – a grim diagnosis, a lost relationship. When we get unexpected news, or when things change abruptly, or when our well-laid plans are shattered, we have to ask ourselves the question: what will we do with this unexpected news?
We hope you will join us for worship at 10 a.m on the December 11, the Third Sunday of Advent, at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton, an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ, 76 Pierce Street, Stoughton, MA.
