Dear Congregation,
Advent has gone by quickly, as it always does, and here we are almost to Christmas Eve in two days! I pray that Advent has been a meaningful time for you. Because this year December 24 th is the Fourth Sunday of Advent, as well as Christmas Eve, the purple LOVE candle will be lit as well as the white CHRIST candle. In Christ, hope, peace, joy, and love are embodied.
My Christmas wish for each of you is that you both experience and share each of these aspects of Christ. While we enjoy the story of the miracle of Jesus’ birth as a baby it’s important to rejoice in the Good News that the baby grew up! As we focused in worship last Sunday on the words of the Magnificat in Luke 1:46b to 55, Mary’s song, we were reminded of how Jesus would turn the world upside down. It would be a revolution, God’s revolution. The Magnificat clearly tells us of God’s compassion for the economically poor, for the powerless, and for justice for all.
As R. Alan Culpepper wrote in the New Interpreters’ Bible, “The joy of the mother would become the job of the son.” That is our comfort and our hope in this Advent 2023 as we live in a weary world so full of trouble. Hope and joy, peace, and love will win because of the revolutionary Jesus and his followers. Let the revolution begin in your life, and mine!
I look forward to being in worship with you at 5 p.m. Sunday, in person and on Facebook for our Candlelight service.
A very Merry and Revolutionary Christmas to you!
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Candy
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