If nothing around you feels like Christmas this year -- you are not alone! We have not been able to sing the Carols together or go out Caroling like we used to. We did not have Christmas/holiday parties at work like we are used and we have not been able to see family and friends to celebrate with them.
All the things we are used to doing to celebrate are missing this year! All the familiar is missing! We could not follow our traditions! And come tonight -- we will not be together to sing our favorite “Silent Night” in candlelight!
Can I remind us however, that all these traditions that we associate with Christmas are our additions -- for none of this was part of the birth narrative of Jesus -- there were no jingling bells, or happy singing. There was no cake or celebration -- not even a birthday party. Mary and Joseph were perhaps hoping to get some rest at the stable after a long journey, and in that night, in this humble setting Jesus was born -- in a place that was not ‘home’ for them! I am sure both Mary and Joseph felt lost in this land where they had come for census. Perhaps, this Christmas we could feel a sense of what the birth of Jesus may have felt like -- quiet, and lonely, messy and strange! And perhaps that might also remind us of what the real reason for this celebration is! Perhaps this year will help us move away from the commercialized celebration of this day into a deeper realization of the beautiful gift that was given to humanity. Perhaps this year we will think of how we can proclaim good news to the poor, work for the release of captives -- specially those that are wrongfully arrested and detained -- and demand freedom for those oppressed by the systems that were created to deem one race better than others and were created to perpetuate oppression.
And perhaps the rituals and practices that we will create this year will be special in their own way and take us back to doing what Jesus came to this earth to do -- LOVE everyone! We will remind ourselves of this tonight on Christmas Eve, so do join us for a simpler worship experience -- while still trying to offer as much ‘familiar’ as we can.
Our Christmas Eve service is tonight at 7pm on Zoom and Facebook live. Later it will be posted on YouTube. Here, once again, is the Zoom link for the Christmas Eve service. Meeting ID: 849 0535 9518 Passcode: 655103 One tap mobile +13126266799.
Please note that the office will be closed from Christmas day till Tuesday, January 5th -- giving the staff and media team, a much-needed break. Please check in with Kathy Wurster for pastoral emergencies. Next Sunday we will have our traditional Kwanzaa celebration and on Sunday, January 3rd, Robert will share with us some Carols that we did not get to sing this season or are the favorite Carols of the choir. We will have Holy Communion on Sunday, January 10th.
Friends -- may we have the best Christmas experience this year. Please stay safe and at home. Take good care of you -- wash hands frequently and wear a mask when out and about. And above all -- let us stay positive, as best as we can. May God give all of us the strength we need for each day. And remember, I am always your partner in justice,
