Pastors E-Letter 12/18/20
As I was thinking about what to share in this eLetter in anticipation of the 4th Sunday in Advent when we will ponder the marvelous, whole-hearted faith of Mary, I came across this post on Facebook from one of our members who moved away some time ago, Nate Quarcelino, retired pastor an all-around fantastic human. I messaged Nate and asked if I could quote him and like any good pastor, he obliged. Nate wrote,
“They say to expect the unexpected. Why? She didn’t expect to be pregnant. He didn’t expect an angel to tell him to marry her anyway. The shepherds didn’t expect the night shift to be anything unusual. God enters our lives in the most unexpected ways, but always with a perfect plan. This year, as Christmas nears, what will you be expecting?”
The year 2020 has been an expectation shattering year for most of us. At least it has been that way for me. Again and again, I’ve had to let go of the plans I’d made including a few hopes and dreams. I used to think in terms of plan A and then, usually a backup plan B. This year has been more like constantly having to move to plan X, Y and Z! And it’s still happening! At any moment today or tomorrow or the next day, I could get a text or a phone call that will once again throw me into triage mode. I would imagine that some of you feel the same way. I realize as I say all this that my disruptions have been small compared to the life altering disruptions and pain that so many others have experienced this year. I’m keenly aware of that. So, in all this, I’m trying to learn that the best plan I can have right now is to not depend on any plan! As a Myers Briggs, certifiable “J” (meaning I thrive in being able to plan) this is a hard place to live.
But I also know that the miracle of Christ coming among us was and is never according to my plan or any human plan. It was and is God’s gift of grace, unearned, unexpected, unplanned. And that gift has the power to disrupt all our plans. It certainly was not what Mary expected – an angel on her doorstep, telling her that she would have a baby when she was a young, unmarried virgin. It was a disruptive, life altering message, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High…” And how does Mary respond? “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
This is my prayer today. That I might have some small measure of Mary’s faith. That I might have enough faith in God’s power to show up and make something amazing, something beautiful, something redemptive out of all the unexpected disruptions of life. My prayer is that I will be able to more gracefully, faithfully, set aside my plans, to enable God’s plan to come to birth in and through me.
I’m fond of saying every year that at Christmas, I expect God to show up at some point, in some new way. I expect God to break into my life with some new gift. It never happens the way I plan or expect. And often it’s not the gift I think I want. But it is always the gift that God knows I need.
So, wait for it. Expect the unexpected. Be prepared to lay aside your plan and welcome the gift. He is coming and he knows what you need.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Annette