Pastor's E-Letter

Pastor's E-Letter

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Pastors E-Letter 11/27/20

It feels perfect and ironic, all at once. This years Advent/Christmas theme is “Come Home for Christmas.” We chose this theme last January. Little did we know then that home is where we would be spending the bulk of our time in 2020. Little did we know then, that for many of us, “celebrating the holidays” would mean “staying” home rather than “going” home in the traditional sense. By the time you read this, I will have spent my first Thanksgiving ever here in Melbourne, with just two of my family members. As I write this, I’m pondering the reality of how to cook for 4 people on Thanksgiving! How do you do that? With just a few exceptions, I’ve spent the last 12 Thanksgivings at my mother’s home in Georgia where we would gather with anywhere from 14 to 22 of my immediate and extended family. Then we would look forward to everyone gathering at my home here for Christmas.

For us, it’s not so much the place that calls us home for the holidays. I’ve lived in many different places for the last 36 years. For us it’s the relationships that beckon us “home” to celebrate the joys of the season together. This is true for many of us. So, in this season of COVID-19, where gathering to celebrate can be scary, our sense of “coming home” can be challenged and tested.

Then again, it is not the first time that “coming home” for Christmas has been complicated by circumstances beyond our control. Military families have long endured the pain of separation at Christmas. Work schedules, illness, and a myriad of other responsibilities can make “coming home” hard, if not impossible.

But of course, the idea of coming home for Christmas is about way more than coming home to a physical place. It’s even about more than coming home to spend time celebrating with our families. Because sometimes, no matter how much we long for that idyllic “family” celebration of the holidays, we know it’s just not always possible in the way we imagine it. Even the best of family relationships can leave us longing for something more.

Coming home for Christmas has a lot more to do with that seemingly universal, soul-deep longing that we all have for something deeper, something timeless: the universal human longing for an intimate relationship with God. We all long for a “home” where we are always welcome, where we truly belong, where we are always loved even when we are unlovable, where we are safe and secure in the chaos and storms of life. A pastor colleague of mine wrote, “The truth about everyone of us is that we are lost – homesick – runaway- children who long to come home to God.”
Advent: A Season of Waiting & Preparation
The promise of Advent and Christmas is that in the child, born in the manger in Bethlehem, we find our true home. In Christ we find a home not dependent on where we are, or who we are with. Christ brings us to our true home by making his home in us! God comes down to dwell in us – to make God’s home with us. And when we receive that gift, we begin to discover our real home in and through him.

That is the mystery that we will be exploring this Advent and Christmas; the miraculous gift of coming home to hope, mercy, joy, faith, and love through Christ. It is a miracle where we are invited to come home to our best selves, and God’s best hopes and dreams for us and for this world.

As we move through this season, we will reflect on what it means to truly come home even as we celebrate a very different kind of Christmas in the midst of a world still facing the challenges of a global pandemic. The good news is that Covid will not, cannot stop his coming! God will always find a way to reach us. Just as God came down to us in the babe born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago, Christ will come and be born in us once again. Our job is to watch and wait, to keep hoping and believing and be ready for his coming.

So, this Sunday we will begin the Advent journey of coming home. And as you watch, wait and prepare for His coming, I invite you to spend some time with the British author and poet, C. K. Chesterton, and his classic poem, “The House of Christmas.” I’ll be referencing this poem throughout the season as he captures so powerfully this longing for home.

Don’t forget that this Sunday, we are adding back our traditional 9:30 am worship experience. This is to allow us to continue to maintain appropriate social distance at all our services. Please continue to register for worship so we can continue to monitor attendance and keep everyone safe.

I pray you have had a blessed Thanksgiving and I am so looking forward to celebrating this Advent/Christmas journey with you.

Grace and Peace,
Annette

Posted by Annette Stiles Pendergrass with

Pastors E-Letter 11/20/20

As you know, I work with students. And one of the joys of working with students is that you’re allowed to tell corny jokes (some people call them “dad jokes” but that hurts my feelings!). Here’s one of my favorites: “There are three types of people in the world: people who can count and people who can’t!” If you laughed, count yourself as one of my friends!
 
Well, today, I’d like to write about two important things in this world. The first is this: Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it couldn’t come fast enough. We are in tough times right now and it is going to be important (and I believe, necessary) to slow down some, take a few moments, and be thankful. It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of this world, but in the midst of all of that, we can still be thankful. I hope that you can do that this Thanksgiving. I hope that you’re surrounded with family and (some) friends and you get to set aside some of the stuff around us that is contaminating our thankfulness. I hope that there is joy for you this Thanksgiving. I hope that there is hope. We need that today!
 
The second thing I want to write about is this: Jesus is still on the throne! Not only is that good news, but it is yet another reason for us to be thankful. And this Sunday, we are going to be taking a look at what that means and how it is good news for us … especially today! When I am struggling with things (like a pandemic!) or when my favorite football team loses, it’s easy for me to begin to get down or to allow the negativity to take too much control of my thoughts and feelings. But just as quickly, I can (and do!) remind myself of the truth of Jesus’ presence and authority in my life and it gives me a lift and gets me back on track! 
 
If you’re at a point in life right now where you could use a good lift (or encouragement or joy or some spiritual help), consider joining us this Sunday at church (live or virtually). Maybe read Matthew, chapter 25, verses 31-46 and come a bit prepared! And also, when Thanksgiving does roll around, give yourself a real treat by slowing down and contemplating some of the things that Jesus has done in your life that you are deeply thankful for! He’s a King on the throne and His love for you is immeasurable! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
 
In Christ's Love,
Joel Lusz
Posted by Joel Lusz with

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