Dear Fellow Children of God,
Perhaps like me, Christmas Eve candlelight worship is one of your favorite services each year. Christmas decorations make the sanctuary festive. We sing favorite, well-known Christmas carols and we hear readings from the Christmas story in scripture, readings which are the best news ever. The choirs sing, and ring. Instruments play. The lights in the church go out, and worship glows with the light of candles. Often attendance at Christmas Eve worship is one of the largest crowds of the year. On Christmas Eve I feel anticipation in the air. People are excited to again hear the good news of the Savior’s birth and to respond with songs of joy. We might call this service our “Christmas Spectacular.” Congregations “pull out all the stops” to celebrate the good news that “Christ, the Savior is born.”
However, in recent decades worship services on Christmas
Day are a sharp contrast to those held just 12 or 15 hours earlier. The decorations are still up, and choirs
often still sing, though the number of anthems is usually fewer. That’s because we expect fewer people to
attend. I guess that folks figure that
attending worship twice in 24 hours is unnecessary, especially if there might
be gifts to unwrap on Christmas morning.
Especially if there might a Christmas meal to prepare and to eat. As a result, Christmas Day worship services
tend to be quieter, more contemplative, perhaps even more peaceful.
Yet, I wonder if this rhythm of
worship for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day does not reflect the first
Christmas. On Christmas night, after the
“baby was laid in the manger”, we are told about the shepherds and the angels, “8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were
filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not,
for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who
is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find
a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ 13 And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
among those with whom he is pleased!’” Angels appearing! Bright
light shining! Good News spoken! A choir of angels singing! After all, that IS
pretty spectacular stuff!
But the next day as the shepherds sought out Mary, and
Joseph, and baby Jesus, Mary’s response to their account was that she, " . . . treasured up all these
things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) “Pondering” might
also be called thinking, or meditating. Those are quieter activities. As the truth of the saving birth of Jesus sinks
in, perhaps those are also deeper activities. It seems to me that “pondering,” “thinking,”
and “meditating” are not only more peaceful, they sink the peace of the love of
God deep into our hearts, because of the Christmas miracle.
I did tell you that Christmas Eve Candlelight worship is
one of my favorite services each year.
Nevertheless, the quiet, contemplative, pondering worship of Christmas Day does not take a back seat in my heart to the spectacular worship of Christmas Eve. I do
appreciate when people gather, not so much for the glitz and glamor of the
service, but for the sure, strong message of peace because of the love of God
shown in the birth of our Savior.
Do you like Christmas decorations? I do.
For over 30 years we decorated Christmas trees which were 15 feet tall,
or higher in our Alaska home! I love to
see colored lights displayed in yards during the winter darkness. But, last year because of work we spent
Christmas in Florida. I wrote to you
about the decoration we have in our yard in Florida. Most of our “stuff” is in Alaska. But, we found a wood cut-out of the manger
scene which we hang in our front flower bed from a shepherd’s crook. When we shine a light on that manger scene,
it gives the opportunity for those who see it to focus attention on the
wonderful Christmas truth of Jesus’ birth, truth which is the reason for the
season. This simple ornament is not the
spectacular light show which I see in many other yards. This manger cut-out simply points to Jesus’
birth, the wonderful news which Mary pondered, the grace and truth and love
which bring peace.
I pray that the wonderful, spectacular worship of
Christmas Eve brings the excitement of God’s Christmas miracle to your
heart. However, perhaps on Christmas Day you might find time to do what
Mary did. After hearing the report of
the shepherds, she “treasured up all these things, pondering them in
her heart.”
A Child of God, Enjoying the Quiet Peace of Christmas DAY
Worship,
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I continue to
serve as vacancy pastor at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida, until
First Lutheran receives a permanent full-time pastor.
NEWS AND MINISTRY
OPPORTUNITIES AT First Lutheran Church – Gainesville!
·
EXTRA HOLIDAY SERVICES In addition to Sunday Worship, we
now have mid-week worship for the Advent and Christmas season.
o
December 24, 5 and 7 p.m., Christmas Eve
Candlelight
o
December 25, 10 a.m. – Christmas Day
o
December 31, 6:30 p.m. – New Year’s Eve.
·
In a Voters’ Meeting on December 1 First
Lutheran voted to extend the call as full-time pastor to Rev. Chris Kollman. PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THE
FIRST LUTHERAN CALL PROCESS IN YOUR PRAYERS.
·
SUNDAY SCHOOL IS IN FULL SWING until
May. Children begin in worship at 10:00 a.m.. Early in the service, after
the Children’s Message, children leave for a lesson, for a craft, and a
snack.
During this
Advent and Christmas Season Children’s messages in worship are learning and
singing some favorite Christmas carols.
This week we will sing “Go Tel it on the Mountain!”
Parents,
Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, Neighbors, PLEASE bring your children to
Sunday School. THANK YOU Sunday
School Teachers and staff!
·
In Sunday Bible Class we are now studying the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah at
8:45 a.m. in the Besalski Fellowship Hall. The last two weeks we pondered the truth of Isaiah
53. On December 29 we will look at
Isaiah 60, consider the magi, and perhaps hear some Christmas humor and
pondering from Garrison Keillor.
On January 5 we begin a study of “The
Pastoral Epistles,” 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon . Come and Join Us!!!!!
·
COLLEGE STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS meet on
Tuesday nights in the student house at 7:00 p.m. Come and join us! They
are studying “The Case for Christianity.”
On Tuesday, December 3, they finished chapter 4 of this book. (THERE IS A BREAK DURING CHRISTMAS
VACATION.)
·
WE CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN
2024 and 2025 using the "Today’s Light Devotional Bible." On Tuesday, December
24, we read Ecclesiastes 5 and 6.
Feel free to
contact Pastor Rockey at 907-841-4066 if you have any questions about these
readings. Or send an e-mail question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net I have
recently received questions and comments. It is always good to consider
our Lord’s love and guidance. I will TRY to answer, but some things only God
knows!
P.P.S. Family Fun:
·
Here is a
link to the Manger scene which hangs in our front yard in Florida. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZfqvvGXWmv3EbzDKA
·
The
FLORIDA Rockey family gathered for Christmas at a time most of us could
make it. On Saturday, December 21, we
gathered at the home of my brother, Stephen, and his wife, Lori. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MXB48JDHgo9CmMaM9
·
I only went
fishing once since my last devotion. On Sunday, December 22, I fished by myself in
a local lake. It was windy and the fish
weren’t biting much. The air temperature
was 54 on my vehicle as I drove away, and water temperature 61 according to the
electronics in my boat. I quit fishing after
a couple of hours and 2 “insincere” bites. Nevertheless, I was still thankful for
time on the water in God’s beautiful creation.. 😊 I did golf a couple of times.
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I
retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as full-time senior pastor of
St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly devotion
previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor." When I retired
many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued writing.
However, with life's changes I now call this weekly devotion "Journeys
Through Life as a Child of God." Since I am no longer senior pastor
at St. John, I felt it right to only send this message to those who asked to
receive it. (However, I am currently as Vacancy Pastor for First Lutheran
Church in Gainesville, FL.)
So, if you stopped receiving
these devotions and wondered why, now you understand. And, if you are now
receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive them, please let me know,
and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution list. My e-mail
address is jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these
devotions help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Vacancy Pastor, First Lutheran
Church, Gainesville, FL
Pastor Emeritus, St. John
Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
How great is the love the Father has
lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we
are!” (1 John 3:1 a)
No comments:
Post a Comment