The Hush of Advent: Anticipation of the Incarnation
The hush of Advent falls over us as we await the Mystery of the Incarnation. The mystery that shall gently enfold and quietly astonish us in the days ahead. Advent, this time of allowing the mystery to envelop us in the stillness and prepare us for the moment when we shall kneel before him yet again and whisper sacred scripture, ‘[t]he Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’
The Mystery of the Incarnation. God’s Love made flesh to show us how far love will go. For us. To tell us that he shall abide with us and we with him, just as he abides in the Father and the Father in him. As close to us as our next breath. Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.
Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh calling us to be a part of his reconciling work in the world. Is this not equally astonishing? Each of us uniquely, authentically, irreplaceably, called to be a reflection of the mystery of his love? No matter how broken or lost we might feel, still a reflection of his love?
A Reflection of His Love: In and Through Them
Meister Eckhart wrote of the Incarnation: “If it takes not place in me, what avails it? Everything lies in this: that it should take place in me.”
Less than two weeks ago, I sat before a screen that flickered with beaming faces. Team leaders from all across the United States on a Zoom call to hear the most recent updates and plans to send teams back to Guatemala. Ready to lead. Ready for the challenge. Ready for the blessing. A myriad of tiny boxes filled with joyful faces in anticipation of their return to Guatemala in 2021. Faces that brought tears to my eyes.
Each face overwhelmed me, yes, because of their willingness to lead even in the midst of uncertainty. But, more than this, I was overcome because each face reflected God’s Love. Each embodied God’s Love, witnessing to the Truth that we are not celebrating what happened 2,000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem, but rather we are celebrating the Incarnation. God’s Love as close to us as our next breath. Enlivening us and calling us into newness of life. And, I saw that love before me. Each face, uniquely, authentically, irreplaceably, reflecting his love. Each answering his call to be a part of his reconciling work in the world. The Incarnation living, breathing, in and through them, just as Eckhart said it should, right there on my screen.
A New and Glorious Morn: Teams Return to Guatemala
Our theme for Christmas this year is A Thrill of Hope, based upon the beloved carol O Holy Night.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn
It is in this thrill of hope arising out of our world’s current weariness that we rejoice, for we are preparing to send U.S. volunteer teams back to Guatemala!
Twenty teams are already scheduled to return to Guatemala in 2021, with three to five more to be added to the roster in the fall. The teams will be smaller. We are being cautious and intentional to start. But we are prepared. We are ready. Our team leaders and volunteers are ready. And, our hospital partners and Guatemalan volunteers and staff are joyfully awaiting our arrival. It is truly with a thrill of hope that we turn to meet his glorious morn.
A Reflection of His Love: In the Darkness and in the Dawn
Through these many months all of you, team leaders, volunteers, and supporters alike, have never faltered in your faithfulness to this mission. You have believed and trusted in us through your generosity to the Faith In Practice Birthday Celebration, the Light the Fire Ride, Giving Tuesday. You have encouraged us with notes and phone calls and love. You have never abandoned us. We cannot fully express to you what it has meant during these challenging months.
And, more than this, you have encouraged our brothers and sisters in Guatemala. In spite of the challenges, we continued to serve in Guatemala even in the darkest of nights. Faith In Practice never abandoned our brothers and sisters in Guatemala, because you never abandoned Faith In Practice.
Each telemedicine visit, each wheelchair, each prescription, each call of encouragement, each food basket, carried with it so much more than the blessing of the gift itself. Each gift represented the greater gift. The gift that told them that you had not forgotten them. In spite of your own worries or challenges, you never forgot them. And, you never shall.
This knowledge has encouraged them in ways that I cannot fully capture in words. For in and through you, they have seen nothing less than the Incarnation, God’s Love made flesh.
In the Christmas Card you will read:
Let us ring bells and sing songs then for the brightest of dawns to come while remembering still the sweetness of that quieter dawn that broke forth in our hearts because he sat beside us in this darkness.
That has been, and continues to be, your witness in Guatemala. In and through you, they have felt his presence. Through you, they have felt the sweetness of that quieter dawn. For that, all of us at Faith In Practice shall be forever grateful.
There are challenges ahead, at times it is daunting, to be sure, but we are meeting those challenges with energy and confidence, because of you. Ready to turn toward 2021 with a thrill of hope. Ready to meet his new and glorious morn with joy. Because of you.
With a rejoicing and grateful heart,
Rev. Linda L. McCarty
President and CEO
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