December 2007
From the Pastor:
Advent is a time of expectation. It is the season when people are asked to prepare themselves for the coming of the Christ child. But Advent is also a time when people are filled with mixed feelings of despair and dread over the coming holidays.
The question is why? For many, the time of Advent isn't about waiting for the birth of the Christ child. For many Advent has become a time when presents are bought and when family begins the yearly ritual of coming together for a meal or for a holiday visit. And so old family issues creep in and people begin experiencing anxiety.
Television commercials and programs add to the anxiety by displaying unrealistic images of what the culture believes the holidays are all about. So people who struggle with the pain of what the holidays have brought them through the years feel left out and disconnected from everyone else.
Some of you reading this are probably wondering why Pastor Mara is writing such depressing thoughts. Isn't the first page supposed to bring good news and good things to hear? Although there may be some truth to that, I write about this because there are many people experiencing pain during the holiday season. I also believe that the church's role is to be present to people in need.
There are folks right now wondering how they will get through the holidays. There are people wondering if they will be alone because they have no way of being with their loved ones. Yet there are others who want nothing to do with their families at all.
So how can we be good news to those in need? How do we reach out in love to those who desperately need our outstretched arms? It begins by simply being present to people.
Being present means taking the time to hear other people’s joy and pain. Being present means sharing God's love by showing compassion and understanding. And showing understanding means taking the time to listen.
Jesus made himself available to those in need. He took the time to listen, to heal, and to transform people’s lives. Following in his footsteps is what the body of Christ is being called to be about.
So ask yourself these questions: Are there people around you who are having a hard time with the holidays? Is there someone you can go out of your way to be a comfort to? Are there people you know about that are disconnected from their family either by distance or by family issues?
I am sure there are people around us that are feeling blue about the upcoming holidays. And I am also sure some want someone they can lean on. Jesus says, "Come to me all of you weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." As the hands and feet of Christ, these are the words we are to carry on his behalf.
Friends, people are waiting with great expectation for the Messiah to come into their lives. They are longing for their own Advent to take place. Perhaps they are longing for the reality of a new family. Perhaps they are longing for a family that will offer them the kind of presence you and your family can. The fact is each day Christ comes as the Babe dressed in swaddling clothes through his people's compassion. And this means that he comes through you and through me.
Will you be Christ's hands and feet this Advent and holiday season? Will you open your heart to someone else's pain? What if you who are reading this are in pain? Are you willing to let someone be Christ to you?
These are the questions we must ponder as we walk through Advent. Each day of Advent Christ offers us the opportunity to reach out in love. That's what Advent calls us to be about. Being Christ is what Christ is all about.
In love and peace,
Pastor Mara
Advent is a time of expectation. It is the season when people are asked to prepare themselves for the coming of the Christ child. But Advent is also a time when people are filled with mixed feelings of despair and dread over the coming holidays.
The question is why? For many, the time of Advent isn't about waiting for the birth of the Christ child. For many Advent has become a time when presents are bought and when family begins the yearly ritual of coming together for a meal or for a holiday visit. And so old family issues creep in and people begin experiencing anxiety.
Television commercials and programs add to the anxiety by displaying unrealistic images of what the culture believes the holidays are all about. So people who struggle with the pain of what the holidays have brought them through the years feel left out and disconnected from everyone else.
Some of you reading this are probably wondering why Pastor Mara is writing such depressing thoughts. Isn't the first page supposed to bring good news and good things to hear? Although there may be some truth to that, I write about this because there are many people experiencing pain during the holiday season. I also believe that the church's role is to be present to people in need.
There are folks right now wondering how they will get through the holidays. There are people wondering if they will be alone because they have no way of being with their loved ones. Yet there are others who want nothing to do with their families at all.
So how can we be good news to those in need? How do we reach out in love to those who desperately need our outstretched arms? It begins by simply being present to people.
Being present means taking the time to hear other people’s joy and pain. Being present means sharing God's love by showing compassion and understanding. And showing understanding means taking the time to listen.
Jesus made himself available to those in need. He took the time to listen, to heal, and to transform people’s lives. Following in his footsteps is what the body of Christ is being called to be about.
So ask yourself these questions: Are there people around you who are having a hard time with the holidays? Is there someone you can go out of your way to be a comfort to? Are there people you know about that are disconnected from their family either by distance or by family issues?
I am sure there are people around us that are feeling blue about the upcoming holidays. And I am also sure some want someone they can lean on. Jesus says, "Come to me all of you weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." As the hands and feet of Christ, these are the words we are to carry on his behalf.
Friends, people are waiting with great expectation for the Messiah to come into their lives. They are longing for their own Advent to take place. Perhaps they are longing for the reality of a new family. Perhaps they are longing for a family that will offer them the kind of presence you and your family can. The fact is each day Christ comes as the Babe dressed in swaddling clothes through his people's compassion. And this means that he comes through you and through me.
Will you be Christ's hands and feet this Advent and holiday season? Will you open your heart to someone else's pain? What if you who are reading this are in pain? Are you willing to let someone be Christ to you?
These are the questions we must ponder as we walk through Advent. Each day of Advent Christ offers us the opportunity to reach out in love. That's what Advent calls us to be about. Being Christ is what Christ is all about.
In love and peace,
Pastor Mara
posted by harmon at
6:35 PM
