Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
The sun shall no longer be
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night;[b]
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun shall no more go down,
or your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
– Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-20
As we turn the pages of our calendars to December, let us stop and take a moment to think about this past year. We can rattle on and on about the coronavirus, the halting of in-person worship, the political divisions, and the overwhelming nature of not being in control. However, if that is all we focus on, it will force us to miss all the places in which God was working among us. God has been with us as we worshipped virtually. God has revealed to us new ways of connecting with one another. God has reminded us that our faith is not only individual but communal. God has helped us to know each other on a deeper level. God has given us a good internet signal and has shown up in our gatherings. Advent is another reminder that as we confess together, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. Fleming Rutledge says, “That is the Advent message: In a world of profound darkness and distress, pervasive sin and evil, we look to the one true light—Christ Jesus, the Son of God.” We can be honest about our loses and anxieties of 2020. I implore you to focus on the light of Advent. It is the sobering reality that things are not perfect, and pain does not slip away overnight, and yet we gather to focus on the light of the world. Jesus Christ has come. Jesus Christ is coming. Jesus Christ is with us. There is still light. Love prevails. “Arise, shine; for [our] light has come.” Merry Advent. Merry Christmas. To us a child has been born and he is called the Prince of Peace. Spend some time this month naming where you could use some light in your life. Spend a moment or two asking God to come and be that light for you so that you can be the light to someone else.
As the year comes to beginning, our mission statement remains: We are everyday people – learning to walk everywhere with Jesus in truth, obedience, and love – every day. (I Peter 4:11; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 2:8)
Happy Holidays,
Pastor Joy