Sermons
It’s Lent!
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I’ve just about had it with winter. I walked out my door this morning and it was -1F. I was not amused. I am thankful, however, that with such a late start to Lent this year, there’s a good chance that Easter will be on a gloriously beautiful Spring morning in late April. Hope springs eternal, even in the little things in life. With the start of our Lenten pilgrimage, comes the addition of a number of opportunities for us to join together as a parish family in Christ to grow deeper in our faith and devotion to the crucified and risen Lord. This Sunday, March 10, 2019, Mass will be held at 9:00 a.m. Please plan to be there to welcome our Bishop, William Love, as the Celebrant and Homilist. Bishop Ignatius of Antioch wrote in around the year A.D. 107, “Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic [that is universal, whole, complete] Church.” This is Bishop Love’s triennial visit to the parish and I hope and pray and ask that everyone make every effort to join us this Sunday. We have a number of other opportunities as well: This Friday (3/8) Stations of the Cross will be offered at 11:00 and 6:00 p.m. starting with a free soup meal. Starting Tuesday evening we’ll have start our new education program called “The New Testament You Never Knew ” by Michael Bird and N.T. Wright. This starts each Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. with a supper. Everyone is invited to attend! I wish you all a fruitful, blessed, and holy Lent, Fr. Pettigrew+ |
Holy Cross Weekly for January 27, 2019
There’s an anecdote told in a biography of Saint Teresa of Avila, which goes something like this: St Teresa and some companions were crossing a river when Teresa lost her footing in the swift water. “Oh, my Lord!” [Teresa] exclaimed, with her usual loving familiarity, “when wilt Thou cease from scattering obstacles in our path?” “Do not complain, daughter,” the Divine Master answered, “for it is ever thus that I treat My friends.” “Ah, Lord, it is also on that account that Thou hast so few!” was her reply. This little story came to my mind as I thought about all the winter weather hitting us on days with scheduled Masses and events. Although there is a slight chance of snow showers, hopefully, things will calm down for the weekend.
Due to the storm, we had to cancel the planned Memorial Service for John Brosseau. We have rescheduled this service with a potluck supper for Saturday, February 2, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. Please plan on joining us that evening, which is also the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, commonly called Candlemas.
A Requiem Mass for Caroline Langworthy who died on January 6 is being planned. We’ll let you know more once we’ve set a date.
The Finance Committee will meet on February 1st at 4:30 p.m.
The February Vestry Meeting date has been changed to February 13 (Wednesday) at 7:00 p.m. Healing Mass on that day will be held at 6:00 p.m.
The roads sound like they’re pretty slippery today, so please use caution.
I hope I get to see you all on Sunday!
Blessings,
Fr. Pettigrew+
Sunday September 30, 2018 Services
Reminder that due to Garage Sale Weekend, we will have only one Mass on Sunday 30 September at 8:00 a.m.
The Rector’s 2018 Easter Sermon
During the season of Lent, we’ve been meditating on some descriptions of our Lord which we find in the Stations of the Cross – each of which invites us to behold – to put before our hearts and minds – some aspect of Jesus in his life and work: We have thought about Jesus as the Lord of Justice and the Lord of Beauty; the Lord of all Creation and the Lord of heaven; and today, we are invited to put before our eyes of our hearts and minds Jesus the Lord of Life and Love.
And that is what today is all about – it is about a loving God who comes to us in the darkness of our sin to make us new and to give us light and life.
That is God’s gift to you and to me – love and life. And there is nothing we need more in our own lives and our own relationships than God’s love and God’s life.
The story of Scripture is the story of our need for that life and love:
The Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden shows humanity walking apart from their creator – showing that at its worst, humanity will choose itself. The story of Noah and the Flood showed that as things got worse and worse, God still wanted to restore us to our rightful relationship to himself, but that simply getting rid of those rotten apples in creation wouldn’t avail us for our salvation – something more had to be done. Sin and evil would still find a way into the world – death still reigned over God’s beloved creation.
But then, with the Call of Abraham and God’s covenant with him began the long story of God’s eternal plan to save us from sin and death.
God promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars in heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand on the seashore. And though Abraham had faith that God would fulfill his promises, when God told him that he would in his old age finally have a son – Abraham and his wife Sarah laughed at the thought – and so they named him “Isaac” – which means – he laughed. I like that little touch – right from the start of our creation – faith is joined with laughter – joy lies at the heart of our new life in God!
The story of God’s redemption is a long one. Slavery in Egypt, rebellion while wandering in the desert for forty years, the giving of the Law of Moses, entrance to the promised land, the creation of the monarchy, the building of the first temple, exile from their homeland in Babylon, the restoration of the temple. Everything that happened to God’s people would be a foreshadowing of the great things to come.
But Scripture not only tells us of God’s great and powerful acts from the beginning, it also reflects back to us our own need of his grace in order to live and love in this world. Human history is filled with people striving to fill themselves with life and love. But we end up filling ourselves instead with worthless things like power, fame, wealth possessions, relationships, people, drugs, money, – you name it – anything that might serve as a cheap replacement, a cheap imitation of true life and true love.
Easter tells us that we no longer need to accept a cheap imitation – we no longer need to look to “things” to fill us and to try to satisfy our every need. Instead, we look to Jesus, for he is the one who said “I am the bread of life”; he is the one who said, “If anyone thirst come to me and drink.”
Christ has risen from the dead – trampling down death – no merely of the body – but of our emptiness.
And I think that is where my thoughts are centered this Easter – that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we find we are filled with life and love – we are made fully alive – not as some promise of the distant future, and not merely of our bodies in eternity; but even here and now, in the very depth and core of our being.
I would say “if we look around in the world we see many people seeking to fill their emptiness with cheap imitations”: but I don’t think we have to look out into the world. I think we need only to look into our own hearts to find that we, the redeemed people of God – still possess in our own lives, our own hearts those empty places of longing, of pain, of anguish – places within us that are dead – places we put on artificial life support by feeding them with cheap imitations even though an innumerable abundance of God’s grace is offered to us – made available in Christ by the power of his resurrection!
Too often, in our weakness to sin, our unwillingness to give our selves fully to God, we accept those cheap imitations when the Lord of Life and Love stands waiting to give us the real thing.
And all we need to do to receive it is nothing more than to Behold the Lord of Life and Love; the Lord of Justice and Beauty, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and like Abraham – trust in God’s faithfulness that he will give us more than we could ask or imagine.
For when we trust in God, he will touch our hearts, he will transform our minds, and he will give us the grace to live in his life and love. We need not fear nor be afraid – for he has done the work of our salvation for us because we could never do it ourselves.
And that faith is joined with laughter, as we rejoice to behold the Lord of Life and Love – for he has given his life in love fully and completely to us so that we might have his life in us that we might dwell and abide in his love forever.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Holy Week and Easter at Holy Cross!
Schedule for the Triduum Sacrum
Maundy Thursday – March 29
7:00 p.m. Eucharist
8 p.m. until Midnight – The Watch at the Altar of Repose
March 30 – Good Friday
Solemn Afternoon Liturgy – 12:00 p.m.
March 31 – Easter Even
Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter – 8:00 p.m.
April 1 – Easter Day
Parish Family Mass 9:00 a.m.
A light Parish Brunch and Easter Egg Hunt to follow in the Parish Hall!
It’s Garage Sale Weekend!
This Weekend is the World’s Largest Garage Sale in Warrensburg!
- Saturday September 30th – Noon until ? – Soup Sale
- Helpers needed in the morning to help set up!
- Sunday, October 1st – 8:00 a.m. – Said Eucharist
(This is the only service today!)
Rector’s Report to the Annual Meeting 2017
Rector’s Report to the Annual Meeting
This morning, I want to lay out the priorities which I think are essential for this coming year for the life of our Parish Family.
Over the last several years, one priority that has constantly been brought up by members of our parish is the need to bring in new members. I can honestly say that, in the past few years we have indeed been bringing new people into our parish family. A few Sundays ago, when the weather was, well, typical for this time of year (cold and snowy) I looked around and at the congregation, as small as it was that day, and realized that over 3/4 of those there that day were new members since I came to Holy Cross five years ago.
Growing a small parish in a small town that is not it self growing is a tough enterprise. Indeed growing any church in any town is tough. The first thing we need to remember is that it’s not us who make the parish grow, but God.
Now, I please don’t think I’m throwing all the responsibility of growing our parish on God. Actually, I am, but we need to be mindful of the things that God is calling on us to do to work with him. That’s what the whole Christian life is about: God doing what he does, and us responding in the way which God wants us to respond in order to be the hands and feet of God here on earth. That’s what you and I are called to be – the body of Christ, carrying on his mission in the world, by his grace. My sermon this morning was about Christ leading the Charge from death to life, and the mission of the Church, and therefore the mission of this parish as the Church in Warrensburg, is to carry out that work which God has called us to do. Indeed we end our Mass each week asking God to help us “do all such Good works which though has prepared for us do to.”
In order to be a place where people want to come. In order to be a family that people want to be a part of, we need to have our business in order. And to have that business in order, we need to be constantly asking ourselves, “Is this what God want us to do?” More than any priority which you may think our parish family may have, that must be priority number one. Are we doing what God wants us to do.
And I want to invite you today, to join with me in adding to your prayers “O Lord, what would you have us do?” That was the prayer which Paul offered up when he was confronted with the vision of Christ on the Road to Damascus. “Lord, what shall I do?”
I’ve been asking that very question myself over the last several months. What would God have us do as we move toward the future. I want to share with you a few thoughts which I have discerned.
Service
One area which we need to pray about is how can we do more to reach out to our community. I’ve struggled myself with this very question. There are a lot of wonderful ministries which God has called other churches to in our town. North Country Ministry, the Gathering Place, the Food Pantries. What can we do?
Within our own parish, too, each of us needs to consider how we can offer service. There wonderful people in our parish who bear a lot of the work. We need volunteers to help out with things like serving on the Altar as Acolytes and Chalice bearers and members of the Altar Guild.
But we also need more people to step up and help out with those special events, like dinners, and monthly breakfasts, with those special events like the quiche luncheon and the annual Christmas Bazaar. The more people who are willing to help the better.
One of the first items the vestry will be discussing next month at our first meeting of the year will be bringing back a few committees comprised of both members of the vestry and parishioners in general. Please be willing to volunteer or serve when asked.
Worship
In the area of our worship, the vestry has discussed trying to have a contemporary service in addition to our traditional worship services. Personally, I think that there is value in having a broad range of worship offerings, but I am hesitant at the idea that we should use worship as a means of evangelism. Other churches and parishes have tried it and that’s not what worship is for.
Evangelism
In the area of Evangelism, we need to get ourselves out there in the public eye more often than we have in the past year. That’s one important thing. After five years, im recognized enough around town to be a visible part of our community. That’s been an important aspect of bringing new people into our family. But the biggest and most important and best way to get more people to church is to invite them. If everyone in the room today, worked this year to invite just person to church this year, we could double the size of our parish. Who will you try to bring into the church this year? Think of one person, just one and start working on them remembering that the best thing you can to start that process is to start praying for them on a daily basis. And then start inviting them.
Education
In the area of Education, Holy Cross has a robust offering of Educational opportunities. We have the Rector’s forum on Several Sundays and Weekly Tuesday Evening meeting that goes back and forth between a book of the Bible and some other book. We also have a Men’s Bible study and a women’s bible study that meet once a month. I can share with you that I have felt personally heartbroken when I have made direct invitations to people to participate in the Rector’s forum and been told “no I’m not interested.” I can honestly say I’m hurt when I hear that. What I want to ask of each of you today is to commit to participating in some form of the educational study offerings that we have here. They are really one of my favorite parts of my job. You don’t have to talk in the groups, you don’t have to do answer questions, but just come and see, like Andrew told his brother Peter in today’s lesson.
Pastoral Care
Pastoral care is probably my second favorite part of my work here at Holy Cross. You actually pay me to go and visit people and I really do enjoy visiting our shut ins, and being there for people in their time of need.
At the same time, caring for our parishioners is a job for everyone. I’m always delighted to hear from our shut ins that so and so called them or stopped by and visited them. Our shut ins don’t make it here because they’re not able, so please, keep them part of the family this year by reaching out to them with a phone call, a card, or a visit.
I would also like to institute Lay Eucharistic Visitors in the parish. In some parishes, there are trained volunteers that take Communion from the Mass on Sunday to shut-ins each week after mass. I wonder if this might be something we can try here? Would any of you be willing to go visit a shut-in after mass on Sunday and bring them communion?
Another ministry, which exists in our parish, but you don’t hear much about is our Parish Nurse. While you don’t hear much about it, I want to just say two things. This is a wonderful ministry that has done a lot of wonderful things for our parish this past year, the results of which are private and confidential, and so done not so much in secret but in a way to keep people’s personal medical lives private. And secondly, if you have any questions regarding your health care, we have a Nurse in our parish who is available to you to help you get answers.
Stewardship
The final area I want to speak about today is Stewardship. Stewardship is perhaps the second most important dimension of parish life after Evangelism. Each of us is called to share the Gospel with others, in intentional ways in our lives, that’s evangelism. What follows on evangelism’s heels is Stewardship.
Stewardship involves a lot of dimensions. One of those dimensions is the maintenance of our day to day operations. You received today a report from our Treasurer. You’ll see that at the end of the year, we made ends meet and all our bills are paid. That’s wonderful. That is a blessing from God.
But one of the things that concerns me is that as you look at the report, only half of our income came from regular giving envelopes. Almost 10% came from our endowment, and almost 25% came from special projects, which are funded by things like the annual Raffle. As we look to the future, we need to have a better understanding of how God wants us to be good stewards of our annual expenses and income. A few years ago, a few parishioners went to the Parish Leadership Conference and heard about a program called “New Consecration Sunday.” This year, I’m going to be enlisting the help of some of you, and some fellow clergy to help us better understand how we might become better givers in the kingdom of God for our annual budget.
Lastly, as members of our Parish we are responsible for being good stewards of the things we have been given, our buildings being a key component. We have done a great job over the years of keeping up and maintaining the buildings we have, and being able not just to use them for our own needs, but to offer them up to the community for their needs. Our ability to be there for our surrounding community is a great blessing to us as well as to the people of Warrensburg. Our buildings are used on a regular and continuing basis by the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, North Country Ministry, Alcoholics Anonymous, and for private gatherings, such as baby showers, and receptions following funerals to name a few. I’m grateful we’ve got the beautiful and functional space to do that. And as part of our life as a family we’re charged with making sure its available for years to come.
To that end, our vestry has decided that we need to undertake another capital campaign this year. Over the last several years we’ve raised money to pay for big projects like the new roof over the kitchen, insulating the chapel roof, and the repaving of the driveway. This year, we don’t have any big ticket projects in the works. But we do have a number of smaller projects which need our attention. IN the next few weeks, you’ll be receiving a letter asking you to join in a capital campaign to raise $25,000 in order to get accomplish those little projects we need to get done. When you get that letter, please consider prayerfully how you will contribute.
I want to end this morning on a personal note. Its hard to believe that its been five years since I first stood up here and addressed you as your Priest-in-Charge. Remember that? I was 9 days into this thing called “being a priest.” I want to say how grateful I am to you all for all your love and support you’ve shown me. You’ve continued to teach me what it is to be a family in Christ. I know that I haven’t always been on top of my game, but I couldn’t do any of it without the love and help you’ve given me. I truly hope that someday I can somehow repay you all for what you have done for me. I can’t even begin to express what it means. But from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I really do love being here with you all, and serving you as a priest in God’s Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. And I truly hope that this year will bring great blessings on our church family.
May God bless you all as you have blessed me these last few years.
Key Points from the Report to the Annual Meeting
- In everything we do this year, ask with Saint Paul, “Lord what would you have us do?” (Lord, is this what you want us to do?)
- Find a community outreach program and build on one which we have already
- Increase service within our parish
- More people helping out with events within the parish. (Breakfasts (Vestry), parish dinners, quiche luncheon, Christmas Bazaar)
- Need a server for the 8 am service.
- Host a worship event that the wider community would participate in
- Get out in the public eye as a parish.
- Every member invites one person to become part of the Holy Cross Family this year.
- Start by praying for them
- Then, invite them to “Come and See!”
- Encourage more people to participate in some for of Christian Education
- Rector’s Forum
- Tuesday Evening Bible Study
- Men’s Bible Study
- Women’s Bible Study
- Encourage parishioners to reach out to shut ins
- Cards, visits, phone calls
- Lay Eucharistic Visitors – bring communion on Sunday to a shut in
- Keep people informed about the availability of the Parish Nurse
- Hold a New Consecration Sunday program this year.
- Conduct an Capital Campaign to raise $25,000 for “small” upkeep projects around the parish
The Sunday Sermon: The Baptism of Our Lord
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The word “epiphany” is a Greek word which we’ve taken into the English language. So technically, we might call it a loan-word because the meaning in Greek and the meaning in English are pretty similar. It means manifestation or appearance. And during this season of Epiphany, we’ll be looking at the several ways which the arrival, identity, and mission of Jesus were manifested, or made known to us and to the world.
Just to play catch up for a minute, this past Friday we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. We all know that day as the day when the three wise men came from the East offering their gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Just four quick things to note here:
First was these three wise men (not to be confused with three wise guys) were astrologers. The song calls them Kings, sometimes were call them Magi, but they were astrologers and we think very likely practitioners of a religion called Zoroastrianism. They traveled from the East, likely from Persia, or modern day Iran. And they came, following the star, to worship the newborn King of the Jews. Perhaps we should remember as we think about that idea, that God reaches out to people, whoever they are, where ever they are, however he can, to lead them to the Truth. Sometimes even those whom God reaches out to don’t full grasp the fullness of what they have found, as I doubt the three wise men really fully grasped who this little child they paid homage to really was. Nevertheless, God reaches out. He does it to you and to me, he does it to our family and friends, to Christians and non-Christians alike, calling them to come and worship the King. God is always calling, sometimes people just don’t realize who it is that is calling. We need to be mindful of that, I think, and at the right times, help them understand in ways they will hear and accept, who really is doing the calling and to what they are being called to.
Secondly, thirdly, and fourthly, are the Gifts. Each of the magi brought a gift to offer the Christ Child. These three gifts, Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, represent three significant roles of the Christ in his mission to the world. They gave him myrrh, a fragrant ointment, as a sacrificial victim; frankincense, as priest who offers up the sacrifice; Kings as the ruler of the universe, the one worthy to be the sacrifice. Gold, from which a crown is fashioned; Incense, which a priest offers up, and which burns with a sweet smelling fragrance, whose smoke rises up to heaven, symbolizing our prayers; myrrh, the ointment used to anoint the body in preparation for burial after death. Christ our Lord is all of these things, and because of that he is able to firmly establish the reign of God, the Kingdom of God in this world.
Today, we come to the baptism of our Lord. An event central to the establishment of that reign. We should first note, of course, that Jesus had no need to be baptized. Though he was fully human, sharing in all of our woes, all our sufferings, he had never sinned, nor was he born with original sin, which we might describe as the proclivity to sin.
Yet, for our sake he submitted himself to the outward act of John’s baptism in the Jordan river. One which John proclaimed to the people for repentance and the forgiveness of sins. In doing so, in submitting himself to this outward act, Jesus did two things for us:
First, he gave us, who are indeed sinful, who do screw things up all the time, an example which we can follow. Yes, he says, John has it right. The kingdom of heaven has come near, turn from your sins, repent and return to the Lord. In submitting to the baptism, Jesus is telling us that John had it right, and we need to listen to what he’s saying.
Secondly, and perhaps more profoundly, by submitting to the outward act of Baptism, Jesus firmly confirmed the nearness of the Kingdom of God. And in doing so, in submitting to the baptism of John, Jesus firmly plants a flag and declares that the Kingdom of God is now being established here on earth. And with the establishment of that Kingdom, Jesus leads the charge out of our captivity to Sin and out of the kingdom of death. He leads establishes the Kingdom, and leads the charge out of the Kingdom of this world, the flesh, and the devil, and into the kingdom of God’s new life for his chosen people.
That life that we have received in our baptism is a life which is no longer enslaved to sin. We are no longer hopelessly and helplessly caught up in the failures of our lives, our sins, our transgressions, our mistakes. But we are now established in the new life in Christ, eternal life with him.
This last week, I reflected on a statement that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Blessed Michael Ramsey once said to a woman who was a little tenuous about the idea of eternal and everlasting life. She thought, which in our worldly way of thinking makes a lot of sense, that idea of Forever seemed like a long time and she wondered if she had to go on forever. Bishop Ramsey’s reply to her was that the idea of eternal life was not so much about time, or foreverness, as it was about the kind and quality of life which God gives to us. I presume the woman was content with the answer as I can’t remember if the dialogue continued.
But getting back to that wonderful image – Jesus leading the charge out of death into eternal life – that quality of life which far surpasses our understanding. I think I like this image, because it is one full of energy and in a wonderful way it captures the struggle we all face as we make this journey to eternal life, this pilgrimage to God, if you will.
You see, Baptism, our baptism, which we undertook or our parents undertook for us, so many years ago, transferred us from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of life. But I’m reminded, by the events of my own life, by my own sin, my own struggles, that even now, having been baptized, and being a firm believer, one who has been given the grace of God to believe the Gospel, I struggle with sin. Indeed, it seems that I’m haunted by the ways of that old life, that I’m haunted by sin, temptation, indeed, the devil.
Although we are baptized, although we are regenerated into a new life by the Holy Spirit in Baptism, marked as Christ’s own forever, we still need to grow in our faith and love. We need to grow into the new life that we have been given through baptism. We need to become mature Christians.
But doing that is a struggle, and that’s why I really like the image that Jesus submitting to baptism in the Jordan river is him leading that charge out of death into life. We face and will face for the whole length of our lives on earth the need to struggle against temptation and sin. That fight, is a real one which we are called to. Sometimes that fight hurts terribly.
Why does it hurt so much? Because as much as we may not like the things we do wrong; as much as we may be uneasy about some of our habitual sins, we’ve learned to live with the life we had. We’ve learned to compensate. Like learning to compensate for that old football injury by putting more weight on the other foot when we walk, we learn to compensate for our sins. We learn to live with and around them. The problem of course is that as we do that we continue to live in them. And Jesus calls us out of them, into his new eternal, everlasting life. A life we couldn’t begin to image the glory and wonderfulness of.
Transistioning from this old world to the new life in Christ is a tough out. But in his baptism, by submitting to baptism, Jesus tells us that he is right there with us. He doesn’t need to be for his own sake, but he’s there for ours, so that we might, by his grace, by his strength, by his love, and his help, attain to the fullness of life which has been promised by our heavenly father.
Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. He identified with us in our baptism, he led the way, and leads the way still; he is there for us, in the trenches, fighting the Good fight of faith right along with us as we seek to enter the Kingdom of his Father and our Father, his God and our God, who is, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Rector’s Christmas Sermon 2016
+ IN the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. God’s plan of salvation came to us in the flesh and blood, and it had happened all as it was foretold by the prophets of old. And in the field, the angels told the great tidings of Joy to the shepherds, who on seeing the child glorified God. But Mary pondered these things in her heart.
And indeed, we come together this evening, in the midst of the darkness of the world, metaphorical and literal, to join the Blessed Virgin Mother and to ponder these things in our hearts.
My thoughts this year have been, throughout our season of Advent, focused on the future. And throughout that season of Advent, I repeated said that our time of preparation is not so much about what God has done in the past, but what God has in store for us in our future.
But, what I haven’t said much about, really, is that future. So what is it exactly that God has in store for us? Well, tonight on this night, we discover what it is.
And the way we discover it, is by going with the Shepherds, to that manger, peering in, and looking in to the face of Jesus. And if we, like the Blessed Mother, look with our hearts long enough into that face, we might just begin to realize, that there, in that manger, IS our future, God’s Future, God’s plan for you and for me.
Christmas is for me, a time when a little sentimental feeling should be allowed. Normally, religion based on emotions and sentiments will only get you so far. But on this night, I can’t help but feel nostalgic for the place where I grew up as we sing the hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The words of that hymn nearly always bring tears to my eyes.
For me, the images of which that hymn speaks, that the greatest event which has ever happened in the history of the universe since its creation – namely that God has descended and taken our flesh up on himself in order to begin the mission of Saving us from ourselves – happened in such a way that, if it were happening even now, in this very town of Warrensburg, even next door, we might miss it. The birth of the Savior would go unnoticed. How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
In that little town of Bethlehem, so still, and quiet, the stars running their course as they do each and every night, something from beyond this world was breaking in. It was the light, a light shining in the streets, an everlasting light. One in which all our fears are ended, and in whom all our hopes are met. It is that line that got me thinking of what I wanted to say tonight. “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”
In the course of our lives, we pin our hopes, our futures, on many things which, on looking back, seem pretty trivial now, though at the time, they were the source of much anxiety, and fear. In school, perhaps it was passing that exam, and then making a good impression and getting that Job, and then keeping that boss happy, and getting that good review so we could get that promotion or that raise, so we could save a few extra dollars, so we could buy that shiny new thing or go to that new place we had never been before. It was that shiny new thing, or that new place, which we hoped would entertain us, distract us, placate us, so that we would be distracted from the worries that hounded us. And then the cycle would repeat itself all over again.
Sometimes, those things we pin our hopes on fail us, utterly and completely. The job we didn’t get. The relationship we couldn’t fix. The doctors who couldn’t figure it out. It hurt us terribly. We’re not yet completely recovered from it. We don’t understand it. We’ve perhaps only begun to realize that we put our hopes in the wrong place.
Tonight, we go to the manger, to Bethlehem, with the Shepherds, and we ponder in our hearts, along with the Blessed Mother, these things which have come to pass in our lives.
And if we look long enough into that face, we’ll begin to see the one in whom we can place our hope, in whom all our fears are vanquished in whom all darkness is cast out, whom no amount of darkness could ever overcome. And so, God imparts to human hearts, the blessings of his heaven.
More than all the activities of the world, that’s what Christmas is about. Its about pondering in our hearts the truth of what God has done for you and for me in the event we celebrate. And its about receiving the Word, fresh and anew. Its about setting aside our world focus, and pinning all our hopes on him, so that, knowing him to have never forsaken us, our fears shall find their end in him. It’s about knowing that where meek souls will receive him still, the Christ Child enters in.
On this holy night, we have come, to worship the one who saves us from death. And it all happened, or rather started, while the world slept, and the stars ran their courses.
O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!