Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by Christmas? Do the
preparations for Christmas drain your energy in the season of joy? Are the expectations for Christmas unrealistic
and, therefore, disheartening or even depressing at times? Instead of longing
for a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, do you just wish at times that
Christmas were done and over?
According to the Christmas angel Christmas is a time of
“great joy . . . for all people”. (Luke
2:10) But the hectic nature of the way
we observe Christmas can steal the joy, and can cause us to even miss the birth
of Jesus. However, sometimes children can point us to the joy of the
season, in spite of all the expectations and preparations, in spite of the
hectic busy-ness.
Last week was one of those busy weeks of preparation for
Christmas. We started Advent worship and
Advent meals last Wednesday evening. Our
family cut our Christmas tree in our annual outing on Saturday. Sunday afternoon a group from church went Christmas
caroling, bringing the good news of Jesus to some of our elderly members. Then the Mat-Su Chorus presented a Christmas concert
later that afternoon at St. John. Christmas
busy-ness was rampant. But, in the
middle of all these “Christmas activities” the children of St. John broke
through it all to bring joy to me and to others. The Sunday School Christmas program was
presented in late worship. What a
program!
Seeing 20 children up front in the church, singing
Christmas songs is a joyful sight all by itself. I was also delighted to see other children
reading the Christmas story, and acting it out.
And, as is often the case, there
were some special moments in this year’s program. When the angel Gabriel tells Mary and tells
Joseph good news about the birth of Jesus, and when the answer is a simple,
“Okay,” there are laughs. When King
Herod is a young girl, not a young boy, and then Herod throws a fit when he /
she is tricked by the wise men, that’s pretty funny. When Herod dies and is carried out of the
church across the shoulder of another Sunday School student, well, that’s
something I’ve never seen before! And
when the characters walk out of church at the end of the program and a
“Christmas chicken” walks out with them, that’s definitely a different
touch. The smiles on the faces of the
children and the bounce in their steps told us the joy of the Christmas message
had gotten through to them. The joy of
the children got through to me, and I believe to others as well. At least the comments of fellow congregation
members indicated that joy to me.
Isaiah prophesied the radical changes the Messiah would
make in the world, as he wrote the prophesy of chapter 11.
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch
will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of
wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- 3 and he will delight in the fear of
the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he
hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with
justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the
earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the
wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his
waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the
goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
(Isaiah 11:1-6)
The change
Jesus the Messiah would bring is not so much in outward actions. The changes that Jesus brought are found in
the relationship of people to their Creator and Lord. And, I am convinced that it is not an
accident that God Himself came in humility as a child. Children can have a one-track mind when
confronted with the unusual and the special.
So the special, unusual joy of Christmas holds the focus of these
children. No wonder we are told, “and a
little child will lead them.”
And, no wonder
Jesus told the disciples. “"Let the little children come to me,
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I
tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a
little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:14-15) We can learn a lot from children about
believing in God’s Christmas love, and about receiving the joy of God’s
greatest gift.
When a young, female, King Herod is thrown across the
shoulders of another Sunday School student and carried out of the church, it
does more than cause laughter. The joy
of the children presenting the Christmas story shows how unusual, how special,
how wonderful, and life-saving God’s love for us in Jesus is.
I pray you get to hear some children sing Christmas
songs. And, maybe “the Christmas
chicken” will bring a smile to your face as you remember the joyful love of
God. Surely, the baby Jesus in a manger
is meant to show the love of God for His people, and the joy of that love.
A Child of God, Thankful for Little Children Who Know the
Joy of Christmas,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. I’ll share pictures
from some of the many “Christmas Activities” of the past week.
·
Here are some pictures from this year’s Sunday
School Christmas Program. https://photos.app.goo.gl/KVh77KdsJL5ZBK3dA
· Here
are some pictures from this year’s Christmas Caroling. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4gyJVhm7XEKjCiN78
·
Here are some pictures of our Rockey Family Christmas
Tree Outing. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pJ7ifbPLnzoLTA5WA
P.P.S. I did go
ice fishing Monday. The wind was
blowing, but I went west where it did not blow as badly. However, the dogs got cold. Anyway, I caught two nice rainbow trout. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ACvbPdjCMu3CVKRd6
P.P.P.S. Ethan now
has a new Alaskan phone number. You
might want to put this in your records: 907-982-2074.
******
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first
time.) However, if you do not want to receive this e-mail, please let me
know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message.
******
No comments:
Post a Comment