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The First Sunday of Christmas isn’t all angels, carols, and gentle joy. In this Short Take, pastors and comedians Erick Williams (@comicaledubs) and Abby Evans (@itsabbye) join the conversation as we sit with one of the hardest gospel readings of the season — the flight into Egypt and the slaughter of the innocents. It’s a text many preachers quietly dread, because it refuses to offer easy comfort or tidy resolutions.

What do you preach when grief can’t be explained away, when joy feels premature, and when the Bible itself won’t let you rush past suffering? Together, we wrestle honestly with faith that doesn’t flinch, humor that knows when to step aside, and why sometimes the most faithful response isn’t to fix the pain, but to tell the truth and stay with it.

Matthew 2:13–23 (NRSVue)

[13] Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” [14] Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt [15] and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” [16] When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi. [17] Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: [18] “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” [19] When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, [20] “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” [21] Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. [22] But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. [23] There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Hosted by Pastor Eric Damon and Pastor Bob Schaefer.

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Music: Trickster by Phat Sounds
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10864-trickster
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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What does it mean to say yes when the cost is public scandal?

In this Advent 4 episode, Pastors Bob Schaefer and Eric Damon are joined by comedians John Benkart (@johnbenkartcomedy) and Roy Gloeckle (@royjay.comedy) to wrestle with Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth—the version that centers not on Mary’s announcement, but on Joseph’s quiet, risky obedience.

Along the way, the conversation wanders (as it always does) through Catholic school memories, youth group survival strategies, church as therapy, bad choirs (said with love), ancient gossip, and whether the Bible ever allows God to act like Zeus (spoiler: no). Beneath the jokes, though, is a serious question Advent won’t let us dodge: Where is the good news in a story shaped by power, consent, and trust?

We talk about:

• Joseph as a model of righteousness that protects rather than punishes
• Why it matters that Jesus’ conception is not coercive
• Free will, foreknowledge, and whether God waits for consent
• What it means when men step back and women speak
• And why God provides not just a Savior—but a family strong enough to hold scandal and tenderness at the same time

As always, the Bible is taken seriously (but not literally in every word), Jesus is centered, and humor is treated as a legitimate theological tool.

If you’re looking for Advent hope that doesn’t skip the hard parts—or if church language has ever made you flinch—you’re welcome here.

Matthew 1:18–25 (NRSVue)

[18] Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. [19] Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. [20] But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” [22] All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: [23] “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” [24] When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife [25] but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus.

Hosted by Pastor Eric Damon and Pastor Bob Schaefer.

Join the community!
Email us at cptbpod@gmail.com.
Find us at @cptbpod on most social media platforms.
More at linktr.ee/cptbpod

Music: Trickster by Phat Sounds
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10864-trickster
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Season 3 kicks off with the return of our Resident Comic Theologians, Abby Evans and Erick Williams, as we dive straight into Matthew 11—the part where John the Baptist is in prison, Jesus sounds like Columbo, and nobody can agree how many Highlander films are canon.

Along the way we cover:

• Advent, aka the spiciest, wokest liturgical calendar season
• Why some churches still have a lone pink candle and whether that makes them heretics
• Macduff, belly buttons, Adam’s abdominal scars, and other things absolutely not in the text
• Jesus’s whole “go tell John what you see and hear” approach to evangelism
• Whether calling Jesus a capitalist or a socialist would make him flip a table (spoiler: yes)

And in a surprisingly heartfelt turn, we explore what it means that John doubts, Jesus doesn’t shame him, and the kingdom of heaven keeps turning everything upside-down anyway.

It’s theology, comedy, riddles, crickets, camel hair, and Erick insisting Jesus is basically the Riddler. (Will that preach? No. No it will not.)

Season 3 is here, and we’re already off the rails in the best possible way.

Matthew 11:2–11 (NRSVue)

[2] When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples [3] and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” [4] Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: [5] the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. [6] And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” [7] As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? [8] What, then, did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. [9] What, then, did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. [10] This is the one about whom it is written, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ [11] “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist, yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Hosted by Pastor Eric Damon and Pastor Bob Schaefer.

Join the community!
Email us at cptbpod@gmail.com.
Find us at @cptbpod on most social media platforms.
More at linktr.ee/cptbpod

Music: Trickster by Phat Sounds
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10864-trickster
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.