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Giving Thanks, Advent, and Christmas

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts… and be thankful. – Colossians 3:15

As we leave November behind us, we remember our time of Stewardship and Thanksgiving as we enter into December. Stewardship is the time when we reflect on the gifts which God gives us, in particular, this year we focused on the gifts of Time, Talents, and Treasure. Appropriately, this season was quickly followed by Thanksgiving, a formal reminder for us to give thanks to God constantly in how we live our lives and use those gifts all year round. December brings with it the seasons of Advent, the start of the new church year and a time of hope for the peace that is to come in the presence of Jesus, God’s greatest gift to God’s people, whose coming we remember on the blessed holiday of Christmas. 

So as we reflect on what has been done already in November and the seasons of December to come, we can ask ourselves questions to guide those reflections based on past, present, and future. If you want, you can even evoke Charles Dickens beloved book A Christmas Carol and its styles of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future to help guide as well. 

With Thanksgiving behind us now, we can remember the good things we give thanks for. For me, I am thankful for the amazing year of transitions and newness. Whether it be Ordination and call to this congregation or welcoming my daughter into my family with my amazing wife Sarah, these are things that move me into indescribable gratitude to God. And I also use this time of thanks to remember those who are not as fortunate, those who have lost jobs or even family members this past year and pray that God brings joy into their lives again so that gratitude springs from their hearts once more.  

For Advent, we look to the future and contemplate what we hope for. More than just a want or desire for ourselves, what do we hope for and ask God to be born into? As the season of nature becomes darker, colder, and stiller we ask God to shine light, radiate warmth, and stir up our spirits. 

And finally Christmas. It is a time where God brings unbridled, indescribable joy into the world and reminds us to be in the present. God blesses us with the Christ Child and a reminder that that child would grow into Jesus, the man, the teacher, the lover of our souls who is constantly present with us and reminds us to also be present in the moment. So happy New Year, jolly Holidays, and Merry Christmas!!!

Many Thanks and Blessings,

Pastor John Barton