December 22

The 2013 Stewardship Committee

There is a song usually sung at Thanksgiving that talks of “going over the river and through the woods” to Grandmother’s house.  This song is great for remembering how excited we all get about gathering together for the holidays. In our hearts, we understand, in a core way, the words “Hooray for the fun! Is the turkey done?  Hooray for the pumpkin pie.”  We know it’s not really about the turkey, the fun, or the pie.  It is about fellowship and family.  It is about knowing you have a place to belong and that you are loved.

Mary and Joseph did not have the best place in the city of Bethlehem. They did not seem to have family or friends in that place, otherwise why would they have sought the comfort of the inn.  It seems that this young couple had no one in which to turn.  But God had a plan for them.  One in which they could not begin to understand or fathom.  From the beginning of their journey, they had come to rely fully on God’s providence and grace, trusting that they would be kept safe.  God was their family, their place to belong.

On this final Sunday of Advent, when you gather with your church family today, make sure you look around and reflect on the people who surround you.  You and they share a common bond, the church.  This is your place to belong, to be a part of fellowship and family.  Give thanks to God for sending you to this place.

Isaiah 11:2-7
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.