"No place I'd rather be!" I heard that more than once this past weekend, as we gathered to worship on the first weekend in Advent. And the comment was for good reason. As we enter this "holiday season", with all of the craziness that goes with it, being in church with our beautiful Advent liturgy, having various families light our Advent wreath, and hearing a Word that keeps it all in focus, there really is no better place to be this season on Saturday evening or Sunday morning when we gather to worship. For it is here, gathered around that Word of Hope and Promise and around the Lord's Table, that we stay focused and grounded in what the season is about: God coming to us, Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace, coming into our world and into our lives.
This past weekend, the image that was before us was from Isaiah, swords beat into plowshares (click to listen to the sermon). An image of God making and remaking something life giving out of something that was made for death and destruction. This coming weekend the image from Isaiah is a stump, what is left after the parts of the tree that have value (leaves that give shade, branches that bear fruit, a trunk that provides wood) have been removed. Yet it is from the stump of Jesse, the failed line of King David, that the Messiah comes.
Ah yes, this is a season when we look forward to God coming into the world to make everything new. To help us navigate through this season, and stay close to the heart of it all, what better place to be on Saturday evening at 6pm or Sunday at 8:30 or 11am than in worship?! There's no place I'd rather be! Come and see why others feel that way also.
See you in church! Pastor Jack Diehl + www.oursaviorelca.com
No comments:
Post a Comment