Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

2026 has barely started, and already I feel overwhelmed.

Society expects us to get our lives together in January. New Year, New You! We’ve got to optimize every minute, make resolutions and SMART goals and figure out the perfect systems and schedules with the best$200 planner and become the healthiest we’ve ever been and cook nutritionally balanced meals from scratch every night in our impeccably organized and spotless kitchens.

There’s immense pressure to completely change one’s life the minute the clock strikes midnight on New Year's.

But it’s 11 days into 2026, and I’m still me—flawed and anxious and tired.

How can I possibly live up to society’s expectations?

And then, when I try to distract myself from my disappointment that I’m not suddenly perfect, I check the news, which is definitely a good idea when I’m feeling disappointed and anxious.

I see updates about what’s going on in Venezuela—which makes me confused about what happened, fearful of more violence, conflicted about the US’s historical involvement in regime changes in South America,and so I pray for peace and flourishing for the people of Venezuela in this new chapter.

I expected that Venezuela would be the biggest news story this week, and then, there was thefatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis in a conflict with ICE, and I’m devastated by the fear and grief our immigrant neighbors and so many others are experiencing.

And of course, there’s still ongoing turmoil in Ukraine and in Israel and Gaza.

Our trans siblings are being targeted by legislation in various states.

AI technology progresses, and thesci-fi fan part of me is both intrigued and concerned.

Our guests at Caring Hands continue to increase in number, showing the need in our own community.

The world feels overwhelming right now. It’s nothing new, and still, I never want to become numb to the world’s pain.

But it’s easy to start asking, “How can I possibly make a difference? I’m just one person. The world’s problems are too big. I’m too small and broken. What can I do? I can’t even get my own life together, let alone fix any of this.”

I’m torn between trying to hustle harder to make a difference in a flurry of perfectionism and wanting to hide under the covers and give up. Neither will end well.

And this doesn’t even touch other circumstances you might be dealing with: illness, caregiving, financial concerns, family drama, death and loss.

In whatever circumstances we’re facing, sometimes it feels like we’re not up the task.

John the Baptist didn’t think he was up to the task either.

When Jesus came to him to be baptized, he said, “Wait, wait, wait—you should be baptizing me, not the other way around!”

You can almost hear the voice of imposter syndrome in his head, saying, “You can’t do this. You’re just here to prepare the way. You’ve only been shouting at religious leaders and telling people to repent. But now he’s here! He’s supposed to take over—your job is irrelevant now. You can’t possibly expect to baptize him too!”

And yet, that was exactly what Jesus was asking him—exactly what God was calling him to.

Jesus’ ministry—his very existence as a human being—was self-emptying. The Incarnation—God becoming human—was to bring what is lofty and powerful (God) to meet us (stumbling, violent, self-interested human beings) where we are.

Jesus was asking John to do exactly what God had called him to do—baptize people and invite them to join in the Beloved Community.

Jesus joined in too.

And the heavens ripped apart, and God’s Spirit came down, and God’s voice announced, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

God was well-pleased with Jesus, who hadn’t yet healed anyone or preached anything or performed any miracles or fed any crowds.

God was well-pleased with Jesus simply for being who he was.

And God was well-pleased with John simply for being who he was.

And God is well-pleased with you simply for being who you are.

You are enough, because God created you and loves you.

You are enough without overhauling your life, fulfilling all your New Year’s resolutions, buying that planner, or fixing the world’s problems.

God welcomes us into God’s family in baptism, and we baptize people of all ages, including infants, because it’s about God’s work, not ours. God loves us before we’ve done anything. God is well-pleased with us when our only accomplishments are eating, sleeping, and pooping.

Maybe you were baptized as an infant. Maybe when you were older. Maybe you haven’t been baptized, and that’s okay. It’s never too early or too late. You are part of God’s family, and God rejoices when we mark that truth with water. And God is already well-pleased with you, whether you feel it or not.

And just like John had a calling, we each have a calling from God. It could be related to our careers, and it could also be about loving your family well, about serving your community in big and small ways, about using your God-given creativity to make beautiful things, or about using your voice to advocate for vulnerable people.

And like John, maybe you feel unworthy to live out what God is asking of you.

But you are already enough in God’s eyes, and God believes in you and will accompany you through everything.

I was reminded this week between reviewing to-do lists and doom-scrolling the news that sometimes our callings aren’t as recognizable as we might wish.

Kate Bowler sent out an email this week talking about the development of the assembly line and the value of increased productivity that has deeply influenced our country over the decades.

Then, she talked about teaching that history to seminary students. She notes that the work they’re preparing for is “slow and inefficient.” Ministry—for all of us, not just pastors and deacons—is slow and inefficient. It can be made up of boring meetings, picking up trash, giving a water bottle to someone who won’t say thank you and will leave the bottle on the ground for someone else to pick up.

But it still matters. Every small act of kindness and love and dedication to God’s calling matters even though we don’t always see the positive effects. They all matter, because God changes the world through slow, seemingly inefficient acts of love.

“If you want progress,” says Kate Bowler,“take up running. If you want meaning, run a church.” And I would amend that to “if you want meaning, do whatever it is God is asking of you, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant.” It’s not insignificant, because you’re not insignificant in God’s eyes.

So, do whatever you can, no matter how small or whether or not you feel worthy.

You are God’s beloved child, and God is well-pleased with you just as you are, yesterday, today, and always.

Sermon on Matthew 2:1-12

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Throughout Advent, we talked about God’s dreams and visions for the world as told through the prophets, including John the Baptist. Then, we talked about Jesus being God’s dream come true at Christmas and God’s ultimate dream of Beloved Community that we get to be a part of and that will be complete one day.

Dreams are a big part of the opening of the Gospel of Matthew. Joseph dreamed of a divine messenger encouraging him to marry Mary and be Jesus’ earthly father.

Then, in our Gospel reading today, the wise ones had a dream warning them not to talk to Herod anymore.

They were really close to ruining everything.

I don’t know if they were the sort of people who are book smart but a little naïve about the way the world works, or if there was a cultural difference that made them assume the best of Herod, or maybe they just hadn’t heard of Herod’s reputation.

But they nearly got Jesus killed.

Fortunately, though, God was at work in the story.

God spoke through the cosmos to wise ones so far away from Bethlehem, sending a star to lead them to where God knew baby Jesus would be.

And then, when the wise ones spilled the beans to bloodthirsty King Herod, God protected the baby by speaking to them in a dream, warning them to make themselves scarce on the way home from their pilgrimage.

After our reading, God came to Joseph in a dream again, instructing him to flee with his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath. And when Herod died at some point later, God told Joseph it was okay to go home.

God guided Jesus’ story and protected him so he could fulfill God’s mission in the world.

It’s a powerful story, but it can feel like God only guided people during biblical times. Generally, we regard people who say they’ve had visions or that God came to them in a dream with suspicion or write them off as ridiculous.

We know too much about astronomy to follow a star. We’re too rational to make decisions based on dreams. And certainly, there are times when seeking out mental healthcare is the best choice when encountering something seemingly supernatural.

But maybe we ignore anything we can’t explain, we’re missing out on ways God can speak to us.

As Hamlet put it, “There are more things in heaven and earth…than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Maybe it feels like God only guided people in the Bible and never us because we never pay attention.

God is still active in our world today. God is still speaking.

What might God say if we opened our minds and suspended our disbelief for just a moment?

Jesus talked about having faith like a child. We do need to be careful of people who want to take advantage of us, but what if we let ourselves imagine more and be willing to experience wonder?

What do we have to lose? And more importantly, what might we gain if we’re more attentive to God’s voice in our lives?

What if we too looked to the heavens, the cosmos created by God’s imagination, and really paid attention?

I don’t have the training to be able to pick out a star in the sky and know what it means like the wise ones did. But there’s a tradition in a lot of congregations to pick “star words” on the closest Sunday to Epiphany, and I thought it would be fun and hopefully meaningful to join in this year.

In a few minutes, you’ll get the opportunity to pick a slip of paper with a word on it. The idea is not to look at it before picking it and not to exchange it for a different one if you don’t like what you get.

The idea is to be open to how God might be speaking to you through your star word throughout this year.

Now, you can take what you want out of this. You can enter into this activity to the level of your comfort. It can simply be a fun activity for today, like opening a fortune cookie from your takeout order. That’s perfectly fine.

But if you’re open to it, I encourage you to put your star word somewhere prominent—on a mirror, your refrigerator, or in your car—so that you can see it as you go about your daily life.

When you see it, pause and ask God where your word might be showing up in your life or how you might seek out more of it that day.

Like the star the wise ones followed, perhaps your star word can guide you. Maybe it can help you be open to what God has in mind for you this year.

And if you sit in prayer and find yourself drawn to a different word, that’s okay too. I’ve already spent some time picking a word and journaling about it this past week, but I’m curious to see how my star word might enrich my understanding of my word for 2026. Maybe this star word willpoint you to a different path that God is leading you toward.

The point is to open yourself to God’s voice in your life, and God speaks in many different ways: a star, a dream, a cloud, a still small voice. Listen for what God has to say to you today.

As we prepare to receive our star words, let us pray:

Gracious God, you guided the wise ones with a star and a dream. Please help us be open to your voice in our lives however you choose to make it known. Let us be open to the gifts you have for us and make us receptive to your call. Guide our path in 2026 and beyond. Amen.

Take a word. Don’t exchange. Sit with it, close your eyes, and pray about it. Listen to the Holy Spirit.

The Lord be with you:

Emmanuel, God with Us, some of our star words may be speaking to us already, some may feel frustrating, and some may seem irrelevant. Please guide us, regardless, and help us imagine the world as you see it and follow where you are leading us. Give us wisdom, understanding, and discernment as we seek to walk in your ways this year and always. Amen.

If you notice someone isn’t here today and would like a word, let me know—I’d be happy to get them one. We’ll be sending them to our at-home members too.

May your star word bring you insight and may God’s voice, however it comes to you, guide your path this year and always.

Sermon on Luke 2:1-20

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

If you, like me, have a hard time not hearing the Christmas story in Linus’s voice from the Charlie Brown Christmas special, you might have noticed that in place of “because there was no room for them in the inn,” as the King James Version has it, the version we read tonight has the words “guest room.”

It can be unsettling having words changed in a story as beloved as this, but let me tell you what difference that word choice makes.

The Christmas pageants of our childhood maximized the drama—Mary and Joseph’s weary and solitary journey to Bethlehem, their frantic search for a room for rent, only to finally be shown to a stable, where we see Mary and Joseph bowing reverently to already-born baby Jesus lying in a wooden manger.

There are beautiful themes in that version of the story about the hardships Mary and Joseph overcame, the change of heart of the innkeeper, and God’s willingness to be born in the loneliest and humblest of circumstances.

But it probably didn’t happen quite like that.

First, if everyone had to go back to their hometowns to be registered, Mary and Joseph probably weren’t traveling alone, but with a caravan of people.

Second,the biblical account doesn’t give us any reason to believe Mary wasn’t in Bethlehem in plenty of time before baby Jesus arrived: “While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.”

Third, since this was Joseph’s family home, they wouldn’t have been booking a room at an inn. They would have stayed with family. Hospitality was an important value, and Joseph not being welcomed into the family home would have been unheard of.

Plus, the word translated “inn” in the King James Version is different from, for instance, the word used in the parable of the Good Samaritan, where the Samaritan pays an innkeeper to care for the injured man. So, “guest room” is a more faithful translation for a word that’s distinct from “inn.”

Homes at that time had an upper room for guests, which is what the word “guest room” is referring to. Then, there was a separate family room that had an upper portion where the family slept and a slightly lower portion where they brought their handful of animals in for the night. That lower portion would have little trenches dug into the ground where animal feed could be put: mangers.

So, since the guest room was taken, and the upper part of the family room taken up by the family who lived there, they would have cleared one end of the animal portion of the family room for Mary and Joseph, and one of the trench mangers would have worked as a place to lay the baby.

Speaking of the baby, there would have been other women there to help Mary deliver her baby. She wouldn’t have been alone in a drafty stable with only poor Joseph to tend to her.

So, yes, our Christmas pageants make for an exciting story, but they don’t give a fair representation of the hospitality and kinship present in the story of God’s dream come true.

God chose to be born to a humble family, yes, not to a king, emperor, or warlord. And God was also born surrounded by a loving, caring community. That’s why the word choice of “guest room” matters.

Jesus came to create a Beloved Community of people who take care of each other, show hospitality and generosity to the vulnerable, including a young pregnant woman far from home, and live out God’s love for the world.

Even Jesus’ birth exemplified that Beloved Community.

And then, God told the Good News to shepherds—not politicians or generals or rich patrons—but shepherds who spent the night outdoors and were probably a little smelly from taking care of animals and who definitely didn’t have a highly-regarded profession.

These shepherds were welcomed into Joseph’s family home, which was already overcrowded with distant family members and chaotic from the aftermath of a birth.

But since the guest room was full, everyone was family—Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the shepherds.And when the shepherds shared what they had heard from the angel, “all who heard it were amazed.” It was a shared experience of joy.

God’s dream for the world is one of community and inclusion. It can be a bit messy, but it’s filled with love.

It can be hard to find that kind of community these days. Many of us have the luxury of single-family homes, which might be extra full this time of year, but maybe not, since we do have hotels.

We have the ability to communicate with people around the world in our pockets, but how often do we really connect with other human beings?When someone asks you how you are, do you ever say anything but “fine” or maybe “busy”?How many people do you feel safe enough with to admit that life is hard?

And it can be challenging these days to have conversations with family members who have different political beliefs. It’s often safer to keep the conversation to “how is work” or “wow, it’s been raining a lot this week.”

Modern life can be really lonely.Christmas can feel more like being relegated to a stable than being welcomed into the family.

But no matter how lonely you feel, you are part of God’s family. God created you, loves you, and was born this night to build a Beloved Community in which everyone belongs.

It’s not fully realized yet and won’t be until the end of time. That will be God’s ultimate dream come true, and it will last forever.

In the meantime, God’s working to create Beloved Community day by day, and thanks to the Holy Spirit, we get to be part of helping create it.

Every time we choose kindness instead of hatred,

Or generosity instead of overconsumption,

Or belonging instead of exclusion,

Or love instead of violence,

the Beloved Community is becoming more real, and God’s using us to make God’s love known to the world.

And every time we fail, every time we fall short, and we will, because we’re human, God is still in our corner, comforting us, reminding us that we will always belong to God, and there’s nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less.

Jesus was God’s dream come true two thousand years ago, the fulfillment of the Beloved Community will be God’s ultimate dream that will come true one day, and God dreamed of you before you were born, so you, too,are God’s dream come true.

Let that belonging settle into your heart, Beloved, and may the peace of the Christ Child be with you now and always.