“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5
Dear People of St. David’s,
I give thanks for you today and every day and I pray that you and yours are well. In this season of preparation for Christ coming into our world at Christmas, let us remember His gracious, loving call on our lives to live like Him until He comes again.
Most of us can grasp the wonder of Christ’s birth and the gift of love we know at Christmas. The idea of the end of things is a little more of a challenge. This is the life and world we know and the end of this makes most of us a little uneasy. I would remind us, though, that because Christ’s coming again will be like the love, joy, forgiveness, and peace that Christ brought on His first visitation, then we can live in confidence and hope. We can live a life that is more like the life that Jesus lived than the life the world beckons us to follow.
Over the past 26 years, Amy and I have been honored to host the Altar and Flower Guilds’ annual Christmas gathering in our home to thank them for their gracious and faithful service all through the year. It’s usually the signal for Amy and me to decorate our home for Christmas. The lights go up on the outside as the reminder that the light of God has come into the world. The tree goes up with its lights and decorations. The snow villages and Santas we’ve collected over 40 Christmases together go on display. Finally, we set up some of the nativity manger scenes around the house.
Every year when the manger scenes come out, simple ones and beautiful ones, I am struck by the lowliness of Jesus’ birth. I wonder about how the Lord of all creation, enthroned in heavenly majesty and beauty, would set aside all that power and glory to descend into our world. I am in awe that Christ came to be born of a woman in the lowliest and least likely of places and lived and ministered among the least likely and deserving – us. As we arrange these various manger scenes of Christ’s birth, I remember the kind of life Jesus calls us to live: a life of service, love, and grace modeled on His life.
Like Christ, you and I are called to descend into greatness. Christ descended to show us the face of God; to bring forgiveness; to take away the power of death, and to show us how we are to live until Christ comes again. We, like Him, have been called to a life of setting ourselves aside for the good of others. We’re asked to be quick to forgive. We are invited to share our gifts for the good of others. We have been called to descend into God’s greatness to build and be part of a community of love which shares that love with others.
Christmas is coming and Christ is coming again. Let me invite us all to descend into the greatness of God this December and in the coming year. If we will, we and the world will draw closer to God’s heart, and we will find true greatness and life.
See you in church this Sunday!
The Rev. W. Frank Allen
Rector