Neli ML

  First Sunday after Christmas 2024 John 1:1-18 Rev. Neli Miranda   On this First Sunday After Christmas, the Gospel passage does not depict a traditional Christmas scene of baby Jesus lying in a manger with his parents. Instead, John the evangelist offers a profound statement which captures the essence of Christmas: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth ” (John 1:14). Christmas is rightly called the Feast of the Incarnation as it reveals to us how God incarnates among us, taking on a human form through Jesus. Using first-century language that may seem complex to us twenty-first-century Christians, John tells us about Jesus, the Word of God: “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (1 : 1).   In referring to Jesus, John continues proclaiming him as the light that comes to illuminate...

  Fourth Sunday of Advent 2024 Luke 1:39-55     Rev. Neli Miranda   The Good news of the Fourth Sunday of Advent come to us from a humble home in Judea, Elizabeth & Zechariah’s home. Here, perhaps at the entrance of the house or within the inviting warmth of the kitchen two pregnant women, Mary and Elizabeth talk about “women things”, about life, about God among them. They are not in a public space, nor in the temple or the synagogue; they are in an intimate, domestic sphere, that space where God’s visitation continually occurs. Mary and Elizabeth are faithful believers who have awaited God’s manifestation to the people. Now, both have been graced with the visit of Life and God is coming to the people through their very wombs. Elizabeth is about six months pregnant with John the Baptist, and Mary has recently received the annunciation that she bears a son, the Son of God. The womb, traditionally considered only a reproductive organ, is now a sacred spac...

  Third Sunday of Advent 2024 Zephaniah 3:14-20 , Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7 , Luke 3:7-18 Rev. Neli Miranda   Rejoice in the Lord. Gaudete in Domino! Today, we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent known as “Gaudete Sunday” or the Sunday of Joy. Gaudete , derived from the Latin word for “rejoice,” appropriately names this Sunday, where the readings resonate with the joy of God’s visitation. “Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!” proclaims the prophet Zephaniah, heralding God’s visitation (3:14). A century before, the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed the glorious presence of God among the people of Israel, “Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel” (12:6). These passages invite us to look back to the past and encounter the joy and hope of those who experienced the divine presence. They also invite us to remember the glor...

  Second Sunday of Advent Luke 3:1-6 Rev. Neli Miranda   Prepare the way of the Lord…! In the 6 th century BC, the prophet Isaiah announced liberation to the captive people of Judah who lived exiled in Babylon without hope. He announced their forthcoming liberation and proclaimed, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”   In 538 B.C., with great joy, the Jews initiated their return to the land of Judah, bringing gifts and offerings, including the original temple vessels that had been looted by Nebuchadnezzar. In the 1st century BC, John the Baptist embodied the spirit of Isaiah's prophetic voice crying out in the wilderness, bringing hope to his people who were oppressed under the rule of human kingdoms. Luke meticulously delineates these dominions in a hierarchical structure: Tiberius, the Roman Emperor; Pilate, the governor of Judea; Herod, the ruler of Galilee; his brother Philip, the governor of Ituraea; and Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene....

  First Sunday of Advent 2024 Luke 21:25-36 Rev. Neli Miranda   Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of the Advent season, a time that precedes the Christmas celebration and fills our hearts with joyful anticipation for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year and calls us to prepare ourselves for a new cycle of discipleship. The four weeks of Advent are a guiding path, preparing us to receive the visitation of God in Jesus. The term “Advent” is derived from the Latin word “Adventus,” meaning “coming or arrival,” translated from the Greek term “Parousia,” found in the New Testament to signify the Second Coming of Christ. In our Christian faith, we interpret the essence of Advent across three distinct dimensions: his coming in history in the first century, his continuous arrival into the hearts of his disciples, and his expected, glorious Second coming. The first coming of Jesus took place in Bethlehem, in a humble place, ...

All Saints Day 2024 Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 and Revelation 21:1-6 Rev. Neli Miranda Death is an event shared by all human beings, and science indicates that death marks the end of the biological cycle that begins at birth. However, the spirituality and meaning of life developed since the first human communities speak to us of beliefs and practices that transcend this conception. Remnants of bodies have been discovered carefully prepared and placed in graves, accompanied by personal items and utensils believed to be necessary in the afterlife. These rites expressed primordial understandings and beliefs about death, its significance, and what lies beyond mortal life.             Our Christian celebration of All Saint’s Day, began very early in Christian piety to honor the lives of martyrs, women and men who had remained faithful despite persecution, offering their lives in service to God. All Faithful Departed Day, celebr...

Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost 2024 Mark 10:17-31 Rev. Neli Miranda   We live in an economic system that promotes, praises, and rewards the accumulation of wealth and material possessions.   The pursuit of wealth accumulation has resulted in global wealth becoming concentrated in a few hands, while around 700 million people struggle to survive on less than $2.15 per day, below the extreme poverty line [1] .   In Guatemala, for instance, wealth is concentrated in a few families, while 16.2% of the population live in extreme poverty, a challenge predominantly prevalent in rural regions and indigenous communities. [2] In Jesus’ time riches were also accumulated in a few hands, and most of the people lived in extreme poverty and misery.    According to estimations 9 out of 10 persons lived close to the subsistence level or below it (Häkkinen, 2016). [3]   The Roman Empire had plundered the people’s possessions and distributed them among the Imper...