From the Pastor

December 2006

Every year, it seems I have to work just a little harder not to turn into Scrooge when the commercial Christmas season begins—sometime around Labor Day (OK, I may be exaggerating a bit)!

This year, since our soon-to-be-released, member written Advent devotional has been on my mind, I have been trying to look at the season through the lenses of the themes for those devotions: Wait/Watch, Prepare, Behold, Rejoice. It seems to me that the world and the Church have very different ideas of what these ideas mean in this season.

Just some observations... Please note that I do not wish to imply that all of what the world does is necessarily "bad" - the focus is just quite different. I think the quest for Christians should be to find some balance between the two areas of focus that may tug at us in this season.

Wait/Watch: The world seems to watch for sales and bargains in this season. We may also wait and watch for affordable plane fares and convenient arrival and departure times. We may watch the endless stream of Christmas movies that are shown on T.V.

The Church waits and watches for the arrival of God’s only Son. We wait and watch each week for the ever-brightening Light that will illumine the whole world. We wait and watch for the angels to announce his birth among us.

Prepare: The world seems to equate "preparation" with "purchase" in this season. To prepare for the season and the entertaining that may come with it, perhaps we add new decorations to our homes. We prepare by buying the gifts we will give to those we love or respect—or those toward whom we feel some obligation. We may prepare by spending hours baking and cooking for parties and celebrations.

The Church—the community of the people of God—is called by the scripture to prepare our hearts to receive the Lord. We are called to prepare for the birth of the Messiah by examining our lives and Jesus’ place in them. How will we make room for the Savior in the midst of all of life’s busyness? How will we prepare our hearts to be radically changed by his message of grace and peace?

Behold: Behold the beautiful, intricate Christmas lights! Behold the elegant Christmas trees! Behold the wonderfully wrapped gifts and the elaborately decorated cookies!

Behold John the Baptist, who announced the imminent arrival of the one who would save the world. Behold the young, faithful Mary and the confused, yet faithful Joseph. Behold the child in the manger. Behold the star shining brightly in the sky. Behold the everlasting gift of salvation! Behold the Good News!

Rejoice: The sweater fits Dad! Aunt Sally loved the CD! The kids are happy—for a while, anyway! The meal was fine! The company was wonderful to have around, but now they are gone and I can rest! I get a day or two off from work!

The Lord has come among us, to offer true peace and enduring joy. God has given the very best to us, to remind us how very much we are loved and how much God wants to have a close relationship with each one of us and the world.

My friends, in this holy season... Wait! Watch! Prepare! Behold! Rejoice! Do these things in whatever way seems best to you. But remember that without the arrival of our Lord and Savior, we would be in the midst of just another cold December, with no reason at all to mark this time in any special way.

God’s blessing to you this Advent and Christmas and always.
Pastor Brenda