Looking toward Christmas – St. Nick’s News Dec 20, 2024

Full St. Nick’s News for December 20, 2024

Dear Friends-

This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. We we will hear the story of Mary and Elizabeth. This story from the first chapter of Luke, has John, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaping in expectation at meeting Mary and Jesus, her yet to be born child. Such a beautiful story! John leaps for joy, Elizabeth cries out with excitement and blesses Mary, and Mary in turn, gives God praise and rejoices in God’s faithfulness.

I love the timing of this story. It acknowledges the excitement and anticipation many of us feel right before Christmas. I am reminded of all the times my guys (when they were little) would say, “I’m too excited to sleep – I can’t wait for Christmas!” This, of course, would happen days before Christmas eve. As an exhausted parent, I would beg them to sleep and prayed they would contain their excitement. In hindsight, I think I might amend my prayer to “God let me match their excitement.”

Christmas is exciting. The newborn babe, Jesus, the Son of God is coming. We are four days away from celebrating the love of God, who came in the form of a child, and changed our lives forever! I want to leap for joy, give everyone blessings, and rejoice in all that God has done and will continue to do!

God’s faithfulness is amazing.

Last night, at our Worship for those in need of Healing and Hope, we were blessed with the song In the Bleak Midwinter. You can listen to a lovely rendition of this hymn here. This beloved and simple Christmas Carol is based on a poem by English Poet Christina Rossetti. It was published in 1872 and is entitled “A Christmas Carol.” You may be familiar with the last verse –

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part,—
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

As I sat listening to this hymn, I found myself filled with a sense of hope and joy. It was an interesting spiritual experience. There I was listening to a somber song in a worship service naming the various hurts and pain people have been experiencing, and yet the Holy Spirit was whispering – give your heart again.

That’s what we get to do at Christmas. We come and worship. We renew our faith. We recognize that Jesus has come into our lives again. So we, in turn, give him our hearts. We give Jesus our hearts yet again.

There is so much excitement and joy in that! Every Christmas, every Sunday, every new morning, we can give our hearts to Jesus. We can say, thank you for a new day, thank you for a new week, thank you for a new year.

Join us this Sunday to celebrate Advent 4 and to hear and feel the excitement and anticipation of Christmas. Join us on Tuesday, Christmas Eve for worship at either 3:30 or 6:30am.

Jesus is coming! May God bless us with joy profound enough to leap. May God bless us with the courage and energy to bless one another. And may God bless us with discernment and wisdom to rejoice in all God’s glorious work in our world.

God’s Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Beth+