Advent 4: Christmas is coming! And news for the week from St. Matt's!
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
In a few days, we'll light the fourth candle on the Advent wreath, marking the last Sunday before Christmas. In case you missed the trees, the lights, the holiday gatherings, and the traffic, this last Sunday of Advent is a further sign to us that Christmas is coming. There are many signs though, aren't there? Especially for our kids. Some come home from college, some are having their last day of school today, others have been home driving their parents wild for a while already. There's so much in this season that is focused on our kids. And rightly so. It's a season of magic and mystery, of lights and sounds, of gifts and wonder. There's a richness to the season when we're young that almost makes it feel completely different. But does it have to be so different? As adults, do we have to be quite so circumspect? Why can't this season throw things into relief for us, too?
Last night at our Vestry meeting, we reflected on a thank you note that Samantha wrote to parents and volunteers who were part of the Pageant. In it, she talks about the innocence and wonder children carry - and about the reminder from Jesus that all of us need to come toward him and the Kingdom of God with that same childlike wonder:
Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. [Luke 18:16]
This week, Christmas is loading and our season of waiting is coming to a close. As we wait for good news, now is as good a time as any to begin to marvel at the story God is unfolding, at the sweeping invitation of God's love: life abundant meant for all. No exceptions. No limits, no end. No boundaries or divisions. Life.
This invitation and the promises of God are just as wondrous and impossible sounding now as they were 2,000 years ago. And still - we will gather to hear the story of God breaking into this world in an earthly, tangible way. We will probe the darkness for light and wait for the thrill of hope. In these last few days of Advent, I hope you'll look again at the mystery of God - take in this time with the eyes of a child, with the astonishment and wonder of a child on Christmas morning. Allow yourself to wonder about what God has in store. And approach the Kingdom again with reverence and fascination.
For those of you who are already traveling, I hope that you will find a place to worship and wonder, a way to mark this season and open your heart to all the impossible things that are so very possible with God. If you're in town, please join us on Sunday (12/22) for worship and for the Greening of the Church after the 10:00am service. Then come and hear again on Christmas Eve the story of hope, the story of peace, the story of love that shines forth still. Bring someone with you who also needs to hear this story, to believe in the impossible, to feel the thrill of hope. May we receive the Kingdom this Christmas with the open hearts of humble, loving, believing children.
God bless you. Christmas is coming. O Come let us adore him.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Tags: Welcome from the Rector