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But the angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Luke 2:10 

I bring you good tidings of great joy, as we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ to make his home on earth! I hope that you see the blessings God is granting even in the midst of the difficulties. The angel’s message, “Do not be afraid” is more important in these difficult days. Even in our struggles, we can hold on to joy and navigate these times with godly eyes of faith. 

Being faithful means living expectantly, because God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to work for God’s dream of peace. Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned in Nazi Germany, wrote The Reversal of All Things to describe our part in the turning of the world Mary envisioned: 

If we want to be part of these events,

Advent and Christmas,

we cannot just sit there like a theatre audience

and enjoy all the lovely pictures.

Instead, we ourselves will be caught upin this action,

this reversal of all things;we must become actors on this stage.

For this is a play in which each spectator hasa part to play,

and we cannot hold back.

What will our role be?

Worshipping shepherds bending the knee,or kings bringing gifts? 

What is being enacted

when Mary becomes the mother of God,

when God enters the worldin a lowly manger?

We cannot come to this manger

in the same way that we would approach

the cradle of any other child.

Something will happen to each of us

who decides to come to Christ’s manger. 

Come to Christ’s manger to hear the good news and to be sent out again! Whatever comes our way, God is with us blessing us with the hope, peace, joy, and love of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas! Pastor Andrea

Swanson, John August. Shepherds, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=58575