Here we are at the beginning of a new year once again. Time to look forward and to put the past behind us. Some people have quite a bit of difficulty with this and cling to the past. This is due to several reasons, but the usual reason is simply because it gives comfort. The tried and true are always a comfort. But if you think about it, the past wasn’t all a bed of roses. I remembered this as I was scraping the ice off the car this week. I used to have a 1955 Chevrolet which gave me many fond memories. But as I was scraping I remembered how many times I had to fuss with that car because the radiator was frozen. My tendency is to forget that part and just remember all the good times. But if I did that, then I’d still be driving a 1955 Chevrolet.
To be honest, I do tend to embrace change and anticipate the future. I’m like this because I believe the future will bring a better way. Sometimes that’s true, other times it’s not true. Regardless, the future comes anyway. I haven’t had a frozen radiator since I got rid of that car. Why? Because I learned from the past and made sure in the future I bought a car that wouldn’t do that. So the lesson learned is: Remember the past, but don’t dwell on it. The future is coming. There are new and exciting things to learn! It is pretty obvious that a man wrote about the birth of Jesus. Both Matthew and Luke give very little detail. If a woman would have written the birth story, we would have the birth weight, length and all of the other particulars. To be honest, women are better at relating stories than men.
The gospel writers were not really concerned with the birth story itself. They were much more concerned with trying to make a point - we have a new beginning. Each Christmas, each of us has a chance at a new beginning. Like the birth of a child, there is a new beginning, a new life to be lived, a new start. For the life of Jesus, we have a new path to follow - a path towards the unconditional love of God which is ours through the Christ Child. It doesn't matter who you are, what you've either done or not done or anything else you might feel - God's love is yours - without question. That is the Christmas message. The Christ Child is here to show you the hope, peace, joy (and most of all), the love of God which is for you. Merry Christmas! May God bless you and may you feel God's love embracing you! This Sunday we celebrate Christmas Sunday. It is the time of the year when all Christians celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. It is a time of great joy, of hope for the future and the peace which should surround us all. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get focused on this message when we’re constantly bombarded by stories of unrest, violence and hatred. It seems to be coming from all directions and it’s easy to get distracted from what we should be experiencing – the love of God coming into the world; a love that lives within each of us.
My prayer is that you will take the time this Christmas season to shut off the television and the radio, lay the newspapers and magazines aside and just take time to sit and listen. The small voice of God is still speaking, below the hustle and bustle of human life and under the noise of the world. God reaches out to you this Christmas season to embrace you in love and perfect understanding. You are completely accepted and loved by God, no matter what or who you are. It is this love that is born this Christmas Day. Celebrate and hear the voice of the Christ Child! You are loved! For the first Sunday of Advent we celebrated “Hope” and for the second Sunday of Advent we celebrated “Peace”. This Sunday we celebrate “Joy”.
The dictionary defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” A great definition for the world. It’s just that we, as Christians, live in the world – but we are not part of it. Joy goes much deeper than success in the workplace or being lucky with the lottery or having that car you always wanted. To be sure, those are nice things to enjoy, but for us, it is not joy. In this Christmas season, Christians should see joy as the coming of the Kingdom of God, the peace on earth in which we all pray for and the everlasting hope that the kingdom will come in our lifetime. The deep joy we feel is the inner most feeling of the Spirit of God working in us – calling us into full relationship with God. It is through Jesus, the Christ Child, that we get to experience this relationship. And that is true Christian Joy. |
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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