Grace to you and peace
Are you ready?
Advent is a season of preparation in two ways. The one we are maybe most familiar with is preparation for Christmas. Many of us think about it in a secular way. Are our porches and yards decorated with lights, blow-up Santas and reindeer, and maybe even music?
As a child I loved riding in the car at night as my parents drove around town to see everyone’s lights. Although they were much more simple than today’s fanfare, there were a lot more people who would put up basic lights on the porch or eaves and electric candles in their windows. While I like the variety of decorations used today, I miss the abundance of my childhood where every house on the block was lit up. The other part of our preparation is gift buying which sometimes seems like it has gotten out of hand. Are you a deliberate shop ahead of time or a frantic last minute shopper? Do you get things all through the year or wait for big sales to come up?
How about your religious preparation? As you read this, we are already into the first week of Advent. If you haven’t already, please stop at church and pick-up an Advent devotion book or an Advent calendar. Both contain scripture to read each day following the theme of The Grand Miracle. This is how C. S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia, described the birth of Jesus. He felt that this was the greatest miracle in history, even more so than Jesus' resurrection. In part, because if Jesus hadn’t been born there wouldn’t have been a death and resurrection but even more so, who could ever imagine that God would come down to earth and inhabit a human body. INCONSEIVABLE!
Each Sunday we will explore what Jesus gave up in order to become Immanuel - God with us, and how Jesus was fully God and fully human, experiencing the world as we do, including suffering and death, but also as God who performed miracles and raised the dead.
We will end the season on December 24 with a 6 p.m. worship service as we herald in the Christmas Season and celebrate Christ’s birth. We will have the opportunity to hear the Word of God in both scripture and music. We will also join in the Sacrament of Holy Communion where we celebrate God’s gift of forgiveness given through the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I hope to see you at all of the services as each week will approach The Grand Miracle from a different angle as we prepare for Jesus’ birth. If you are unable to attend our 10 a.m. Sunday worship you can find us streaming on Facebook.
May you have a blessed Advent and Merry Christmas. - Pastor Eunice
