A Message from Pastor Tom,
The Gospel of Luke invites us to a night of wonder and miraculous angelic proclamations as the Christ child is born. It is the beautifully crafted narrative of heaven and earth touching in a way that defies all human logic. On that sacred night, a band of shepherds heard that the Messiah had been born. Neither kings nor emperors heard the message of God’s grace made incarnate. Lowly shepherds living in the fields surrounding Bethlehem tending their flocks were chosen to bear witness to the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises. Upon hearing the good news, the shepherds traveled to kneel before a tiny babe in a manger. Then they returned home. We hear nothing more about that band of shepherds. On that storied night, the lowly shepherds no doubt believed the world would be instantly radically transformed. Death and disease, then running rampant, would be stilled by the healing balm of God’s sovereignty. Oppression, exploitation, and war would cease, and harmony among all people would no longer be a mere hope but a concrete reality of lived experience.
This weekend, we will travel to kneel before a tiny manger. We will be overcome with awe and wonder as the story of God with us is told in word and in song. In some way, we are like those shepherds. Despite the brevity of the Christmas peace, we will somehow believe that the world is once again God’s good creation. Yet, when that final hymn is sung, the last decoration packed away, the closing prayer offered, life will return to normal. Those things that seemed irrelevant on Christmas will again rise in our hearts and minds. Like the shepherds, we simply return home. What if we did not just return home after Christmas? What if we lived as though the miracle of Christmas was transformative in our lives? Is it even possible to be people and communities of hope, peace, joy, and love? The true miracle of Christmas is that it is possible. That is the profound truth and undeniable opportunity of knowing that our God is with us in the most intimate and radically transforming way imaginable.
As we walk from Christmas Eve services this year, let us truly return home. But let us return home to God. After all, we are now the witnesses of that angelic proclamation that Christ the Savior is born. Let us now see Christmas not as a day or a season but as a call to a new way of living, serving, and continuing the work of God’s good creation.
May the celebration of the Feast of Christmas be a time of joyful gratitude, loving fellowship, and deepening trust in God’s enduring grace.
Blessings,
Pastor Tom and Roxanne
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