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December 2002
"...and his name shall be called Emmanuel..." (Matthew 1:23)
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December 2002
"...and his name shall be called Emmanuel..." (Matthew 1:23)
Recently the church's activity level has really picked up. Committee meetings for planning and fine tuning of ministry events have been taking place each week. At almost every meeting the upcoming events of Advent and Christmas are the focal points. No doubt this is a busy time. The time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is often little more than a blur.
Busy schedules and holiday routines need not, indeed must not, hide the blessedness of this sacred time. The ancient message of the good news of Jesus and the coming kingdom once again resounds in the singing and the preaching of the Church. Emmanuel (God with us) is the ever-new story of the God who is eternally present. Neither the quickly passing years, not the slowly evolving centuries can render the eternal God irrelevant. The song of the angels heard by the sleepless shepherds was sung for us, too. It was and remains a song of sacred activity, a song of comfort and a song of rejoicing.
In spite of the busyness and the chaos of this season let us rejoice in its meaning to us. God is here, and where God is there is hope; and where there is hope there is rejoicing.
May God, the Eternal One, our Savior and Strength, be especially near during this sacred season.
Grace and peace,
David
David D. Reed