Joy

Emmanuel God is with us. We remember and celebrate God’s coming to us this month. Christmas is a time of great joy and excitement. The promises of God are kept. The Messiah comes to heal the brokeness of the world. Everything is made new in Jesus. We are made new everyday through the gift of our baptism. Joined to the Baby of Bethlehem, we are commissioned by God to share the Good News that the old of of looking at the world has changed. The change comes in the greatest Christmas gift of all time, Jesus who is the Christ!

Joy is something that is hard to quantify sometimes. The world tells us that joy only comes from things in this world. The world screams to us that it is only through the accumulation of things that we are truly made complete. Jesus shows use a more excellent way to love and serve God and each other. The contrast between these tow ways of thinking has never been greater than it is right now. We live in a time of greed and selfishness. We live in the time when people are looking out for themselves. We are living in a very lonely time for many people. We have learned over teh course of the last three years that is is only family and community that we can find true joy. God creates us to live together. God joins Godself to us in teh Babe of the Manger. That Babe then joins us to each other in love and service.

May you and your family know the true JOY of this season. May you feel the presence of the Christ child now more than ever before in your life and the life of your family. I am so proud to be your pastor.

Peace,
Pastor Bob