From the Pastor
Around the middle of November, Karin, our office manager, began asking me for December newsletter material. We hadn’t made it to Thanksgiving, our church stewardship campaign had just begun, and here she was asking me to start thinking about Advent and Christmas. I resisted; I wasn’t ready! In fact, even as I sit here and write this I AM STILL NOT READY!!!
Ah, but what exactly does it mean to be ready for Advent and Christmas? Are we ready when the house is decorated, gifts are purchased and wrapped and all the holiday food is in place? Are we ready when all the Christmas orders of worship are printed, candles are prepared and Christmas Eve meditations are completed? (I guess that is me, not you) Are we ready when all the kids are home from college and family and friends have gathered? When are we ready?
Well, as you might expect, Jesus had a different idea about being ready. He actually didn’t pay much attention to the calendar, did not worry about getting all his Christmas shopping done before the midnight Christmas Eve service. Essentially Jesus said that we need to be ready for Christmas all the time, for in any ordinary moment in the midst of any ordinary day, God might show up. You just never know. Every day has the potential to be Christmas day.
In the words of one of my mentors in ministry, Bill Nelson, “In memory we lace the Christmas story with angelic choirs, and softly lowing cattle, and attentive shepherds. That is the poetry by which, quite rightly, we remember Christmas. But what really happened, happened as such things usually happen, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the grit and grime, of everyday life. The point is plain: we shall either be alert for signs of the holy in the commonplace, or we shall miss them altogether. We shall see God in simple things and unexpected places, or we may not see God at all. There are no ideal conditions for you to be encountered by God. You must let God find you where you are, in your pain or joy, in your heartache or playfulness, in your fears or your hopes.”
In this season of beauty and busy-ness, hope and hustle, my hope is that we do not miss the one in the midst of the other. Are you ready?
Gene
