Pastor Ponderings
Favorite Christmas Hymn
One of my favorite Christmas hymns is not in the “top ten” although it comes with huge credentials. It’s a poem written by the gifted 19th century poet, Christina Rosetti, with musician by the great Scandinavian composer, Gustav Hoist. Something about how the tune and words come together to evoke the reality of this world and how we, as God’s people, respond to it is so beautiful. It’s the ending words that impact me most, especially as the Christmas holidays turn into a new year, come as we know it will…with
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…