Dearly Beloved,
Grace and peace to you, Van Meter friends and family!
Happy Advent! I have always loved this season of the church year. Some of the traditions I love started when I was a child, such as the annual trip to a tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree, cut it down, and bring it home; getting out all the boxes of decorations; singing favorite Christmas carols while decorating the tree; having an Advent calendar to help count down the days until Christmas; and setting up the nativity set.
As a child, I was captivated by our nativity set. I loved helping mom carefully unwrap each piece and place each figure in its proper place in the stable. The idyllic scene I imagined for what it was like to be born in a cozy stable with all the animals calmly looking on, was fueled by the lyrics of favorite Christmas carols like,
"Away in a manger,
no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus
laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky
look down where he lay,
the little Lord Jesus,
asleep on the hay",
and,
"Silent night, holy night,
all is calm, all is bright,
round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace."
I am certain I had no idea what it really was like for Mary, nine months pregnant, to travel with Joseph for seven or more long days, on foot or sitting on the back of a donkey, all the way to Bethlehem. How anxious they must have felt to find that there was no room at any inn. In desperation, Mary had to give birth without the help of a midwife, in a smelly, unsanitary space where sheep and other animals were kept. Her precious, newborn baby boy, wrapped in strips of cloth, would have only the animals' feeding trough for a bed.
Humble shepherds tending their flocks at night were stunned when an angelic chorus appeared, announcing that a baby born in a Bethlehem stable was the long-awaited Savior, the Messiah, the Lord. I imagine the shepherds (and everyone they told) asked each other, "What child is this?"
In 1865, William Chatterton Dix penned a poem that would become the beloved Christmas-time favorite, "What Child Is This?" That question, "What Child IS This?" will be our Advent theme. Every Sunday of Advent and the Sunday after Christmas, we will dive into this question that is much more complicated than the lilting lullaby tune, "Greensleeves," conveys. We will explore the story of the time leading up to the birth of Christ in its historical fullness and what the realities of life were like for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The story of humanity and its recurring themes run right through history and into our own stories as we consider "What Child IS This" for us, and for all people today. Yet, we can rely on the assurance of the carol to confirm that God is "present with us" in powerful ways that continue to be the Word of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love even and especially in the midst of uncertain times.
"How silently, how silently,
the wonderous gift is given;
so God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in."
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" (vs. 3)
May the amazing gift of Christ be born in us all again this Advent.
In Christ's gracious love,
Pastor Cathy