PASTOR’S CORNER December 2009
Wow! Welcome to Advent! You were expecting early news of Christmas– and we walk SMACK into people FAINTING from FEAR– and APPREHENSIVE of what is coming upon the world. With the Christmas program just THREE WEEKS AWAY,– you thought you might hear SOUNDS of Little Drummer Boy,– but instead– you get “DISTRESS among NATIONS and CONFUSION. But it will get WORSE! In the coming weeks,– we will be called SNAKES,– and VIPERS;– we will be called “CHAFF that will be thrown into a raging fire in the last days.” Wow!– Welcome to Advent!
On the other hand,–Advent will also get BETTER. The Sanctuary will be DECORATED in GREENERY and LIGHTS and WREATHES and BOWS. In a matter of weeks,–we will SING CAROLS of Christmas, and children will tell about the birth of a special baby,– and we will hold candles high and sing “Silent Night.” Oh yeah,– Advent will get a whole lot better.
Advent is a season of MIXED MESSAGES; like a real-life “good news/bad news” joke,– and if you only hear PART of the MESSAGE,– you MISS THE POINT. If you only hear the GOOD NEWS; –
“peace on earth, the Savior is born!” you MISS the WAKE UP CALL that WARNS US of a day of JUDGMENT that will one day come. But if you only hear the BAD NEWS,– you MISS the COMFORT and SECURITY that will PROTECT the People of God from that AWFUL DAY.
The word ADVENT literally means “coming.”It is from the root word “adventure.” Just around the corner,– something is about TO HAPPEN. Soon…but not yet…we will experience a NEW THING. What will happen?– When will it come? That’s part of the ADVENTURE. That’s why we call it ADVENT. But this theme of coming has THREE different REFERENCES: A PAST,–A PRESENT,– and a FUTURE. Something came ONCE,– something is COMING NOW,– and something WILL COME LATER.
So Jesus came ONCE – twenty centuries ago – but he ALSO COMES in the PRESENT.
Not in a MANGER,– or on a CROSS,– but in countless other ways. Last SUNDAY,– Jesus CAME into the LIFE of JOANN DREPPS through the sacrament of BAPTISM. He will be born in HER, birthed in HER HEART,– every bit as REALISTICALLY as when he was born in a manger. Next SUNDAY, he will come to us in the sacrament of Holy Communion. When we eat the bread and drink the wine or grape juice,– he says we TAKE HIM IN TO OUR BODIES . He therefore goes WITH US into the FIELDS– OUR HOMES–IN SCHOOLS–and VALLEYS of our DAILY LIVES. If you think you are ALONE in this WORLD and the PROBLEMS that FACE YOU,– think again. Jesus GOES WITH YOU when you leave this place today. And Jesus comes to us today in a SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON,– or in the RITE of CONFIRMATION,– or in a QUIET MOMENT driving in the CAR, or in a TRAGEDY or CRISIS. He didn’t just come ONCE;—- he comes ALWAYS.
ARE YOU READY????????? God Loves You And So Do We….Merry Christmas, REJOICE in HIS COMING! Pastor Ron And Karen.