Good morning, church!  And welcome to the one hundred and seventieth annual meeting of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brookline.  

This is my tenth Annual Address as your rector.  As is my practice each year, I want to start by reminding you how much I love you, and how much I love being your rector.  It is a privilege to walk your journeys of faith with you and I am humbled by your faithfulness and your trust.

Some of us find it harder than others to speak our minds, even when the circumstances call for speech. My grade school report cards were always good, except that my teachers would invariably write in the comment section that they wished I would speak up more in class. No amount of cajoling or encouragement really helped – to this day, if I do not have prepared remarks, like a sermon or a classroom lecture, I would rather listen than talk. After all, God gave us two ears and only one mouth – which do you think we should use more, given the resources at our disposal?

“The blessing of God; Eternal Majesty, Incarnate Word an Abiding Spirit be upon you, remain with you, and remind you that you are God’s beloved child every single day of your life.”

This is the blessing I usually give to young people who cross their arms at the time of Communion seeking a blessing.  The words, you might recognize, come from the Gospel story of Jesus’ baptism.

These three characters of the Wise Men, or Magi, or three Kings hold a great deal of mystery and intrigue in our Christmas story.  Though only spoken of in Matthew’s Gospel, no nativity set or Christmas Pageant seems complete without them.

And yet we don’t really know much about them.  And much of what we think we know about them is actually speculation or church lore.