From The Pastor's Desk. . . 

And then there is love. . .
 
I remember my favorite part of the Christmas season as a child was going to the airport to pick up my grandparents.  I would fight to have the honor, and I probably would have thrown a tantrum too!  I remember there was a distinct way I could be close with my grandmother that I could not be with anyone else. That for me was what it was all about and I wanted every moment I could with them.
 
As I got older, circumstances changed and I was able to see my grandparents often, until I went into the ministry when my grandfather was both happy and sad, since he knew that this life was a great calling, but did not afford the luxury, as he put it, of visiting family.  My Grandmother never really understood that, but she went along, relishing the moments we had together. 
 
Saying that, it is hard for me to be too sad for her passing on, since on one hand I know she is with the Lord and on the other I knew that her body was failing her to the extreme. However, as we approach Christmas, I remember those journeys to the airport and that incredible excitement to receive that hug as they walked off the plane.  It was an embrace so full of love, so much so for the briefest moment, no matter what I was going through I would lose myself and just fall into the blissful state of love, not really caring about anything else.
 
I often think about that embrace and wonder what it must have felt like for those who witnessed the coming of Christ.  For better or worse, the Gospels are really devoid of emotional talk.  Most of the emotions we ascribe to the nativity are embellishments on some simple descriptors.  But I do not think that words, no matter however appropriate, could ever come close to the real emotions that came in those situations. We come back to our experiences and relate how we feel in similar times and presuppose them onto the stories we know.
 
This is not a bad thing!  In fact, it is a very good thing, and is at the heart of what it means to be a witness for God. The whole nativity story is merely a witness. Only two of the four gospels mention it and the letters don't even broach the birth. In fact, in the early church, Christmas was not even celebrated!  Again, I do not say this to discount the holiday, but to lift up its importance, of being about witnessing to the Birth of Christ, but more importantly, witnessing to the love God has for us.
 
This really becomes what the holiday of Christmas is about: how we witness to the Love of God. The catalyst and motivation are the remembrance that God so loved us that he gave us his son, but what we do with that is far more important in how we show grace and compassion.  Moreover, how we witness, and model God’s Love is the most powerful part of this holiday.
 
Last week, when I was pulling out my sweaters and found one that my Grandmother had given to me many years ago (someday it will fit again!) I started to think about the gifts that I had been given and realized that I could not recall more than a couple. I will not however, ever forget that feeling of the embrace every time I saw them as a child, and I know that when my days here are ended too, I will once again feel that love in even a more powerful way.

In Christ,

Bryan

Tree of Hope and Remembrance 

Church Christmas Party 2018 

Join us for party celebrating the  launch
of Westminster’s New Youth Ministry 

• Meet Oliver Page, our new Youth Director
• Talk about what you want in a youth program.
• Meet other youth in the community
• Have Pizza, play games and have a lot of fun