He Made a Way in a Manger

We lit the third candle of Advent this past weekend:  the candle of Joy.  The Joy candle centers on the joy that Christ’s birth brings to ALL people.  As the coming of Jesus, our Savior, draws nearer, our joy builds with our anticipation of His birth.

At worship this past weekend, all of the Calvary children in Grace Place, from the two-year-olds through elementary age, performed their annual Christmas pageant during several of the services.  If you wanted to experience joy and feel the presence of God’s joy, it was on the faces and in the hearts of our children.  They sang from their hearts!  The hope, love, peace and joy of Christmas just came pouring out of them and touched each one of us in a profound way!

Certainly, our joy was muted this week by the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.  Still, it is at just such times that only the healing and peace of Christ can give us a glimpse of the joy He brings to the hearts and lives burdened with grief and loss.  I also know that many of you are also going through some tough situations in your own lives and are perhaps finding it hard to celebrate Christmas this year as well.  Yet, Christmas still comes.  No matter our circumstances or the struggles we face, Jesus still comes.  And, perhaps, it is in the valleys of life, that we need to remember that the baby in the manager, Jesus the Christ Child, came into this world for us.  His light still shines in the darkness of our valleys and in our world.   His light will always surround us no matter our circumstances and no matter how deep those valleys may be.  God’s love is deeper than all the valleys in our lives.

Last night, I was thinking about all that Christ’s coming has done for us and here are a few from my rather lengthy list. 

Christ’s coming is stronger than tragedy.

Christ’s coming overcomes even the deepest valleys in our lives.

Christ’s coming brings us strength in our weakness.

Christ’s coming heals our wounded hearts.

Christ’s coming brings hope to the hopeless.

Christ’s coming brings peace and contentment.

Christ’s coming mends the brokenhearted.

Christ’s coming heals the pain of grief, sorrow and illness.

Christ’s coming means there is victory over death.

Christ’s coming means I have a relationship with God.

Christ’s coming changed the world forever.

Christ’s coming changed my life forever.

There’s wonderful song "He Made a Way in a Manager."   In the chorus, the lyrics say, “He found a way in a manager, to find a way to the cross.”  May we always remember that the greatest gift ever given to the world was Jesus the Christ.  Because of Jesus, we are forgiven and forever connected to God.  What a gift that is to embrace!  It is a divine gift that lasts for all eternity.  

May the blessings of Christmas fill your heart with love, hope, joy and peace!  Merry Christmas!

Soli Deo Gloria! 

Pastor Carol

Love Came Down at Christmas

We lit the second candle of Advent this past weekend: the candle of Love. The Love candle centers on the love of God and how that love transforms us to love others.

We light this second candle as a symbol of God’s light shining in the darkness.  The Light has come into the world.  As we are told in the first chapter of John, the darkness has not understood it.  But the darkness will never overcome it.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being  in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.      John 1:1-5

I'm sure there are many things I could quote about love (love is a many splendored thing, love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love...), but instead I keep returning to this thought of light shining in the darkness.   Jesus came as a light in the darkness full of grace and truth.  God in the flesh, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born without sin.  Emmanuel—God with us.  Born, as the angel of the Lord told Joseph, to “save His people from their sins.”  

Jesus was born to live a sinless life and born to die a cruel death.  A death He willingly went to in order to give us a relationship with God that we could never earn.  Jesus came with love.  He cared for the hurting; he cared for the oppressed and the outcast.  He encouraged his followers to love as well and to show others love. 

Over the next week, think about ways that you can shine the Light of Jesus’ love to someone.  You know, Mother Teresa was asked once how she was able to feed so many thousands of children over the years.  Her response was, I did it one by one by one.  She did it one child at a time.  Think of a person who needs God’s love showered on them this week.  Reach out to the person that God places on your heart this week.  Be Christ to that person.  Bring His Light and His love in your words and deeds.  Sometimes the smallest gift of love can change a life!  Love is a powerful gift.

Here is a wonderful song sung by Ali Mathews "Love Came Down at Christmas."   May the love of Christmas touch your heart anew this week.

Christmas Love,

Pastor Carol

Just Say "Yes!"

Welcome to Advent, the season of preparation and waiting. The word “advent” means “coming” or “arrival.” Advent is a celebration of two things: the celebration of the birth of Jesus and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King. The season of Advent started in the 6th Century AD as a four-week journey before December 25. Christians were to dedicate themselves to both remembering and anticipating Jesus during those four weeks. Advent is a time for us to slow down a bit and to look at both the past and the future. In the present, we find ourselves looking back and also looking forward at the same time.

At this weekend’s worship services, we lit the first candle of the Advent wreath: the Hope candle.  The Hope candle represents the hope that comes from the announcement of Christ’s birth and the expectation of His certain return.  We lit the candle as a symbol of God’s light shining in the darkness.  The Light has come into the world and it shines as brightly now as it did on the first Christmas.  The darkness didn’t overcome it then and it never will!

I can’t help but think of Mary this week.  I remember the many Sunday School Christmas pageants I was in at Calvary when I was growing up here.  All of us girls wanted to be Mary.  Sadly, I was only an angel most years--an angel with a rather crooked little wire halo, I might add! I remember my mom telling me that it was an angel who gave Mary the news that she was going to have a baby and that the angels were the ones who visited the shepherds.  She convinced me that being an angel was a really ‘big” deal and an important part of the Christmas story.  Still, deep down inside, I really, really wanted to be Mary. 

Think about Mary for a minute.  Here she is a 13-15 year old girl who has been told that she is favored by God and will bring into the world God’s Son.  Can you imagine!  Mary’s story is one of risk, sacrifice, deep faith and love.  Mary’s “yes” to God changed the world forever!

All week I’ve been thinking about Mary’s “yes.”  How often are we called on by God to do something and we either ignore His request, fail to hear His request or say no to His request?  So over the next three weeks of Advent, when God nudges your heart, why not try saying ‘yes” like Mary did and see what happens.  Open yourself up!  Open your heart wide and be a servant of the King in a way you’ve never done before.  Take a risk and say, "Yes!"  Do it boldly and without hesitation. 

Here is a wonderful song by Randy Albright called Mary Said Yes.   May the hope of Christmas lift your spirit and may you say “yes” to God with a servant’s heart this week.

Christmas Hope,

Pastor Carol