From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Wednesday night we greened the church. Lots of poinsettias, ristras, and more! There are now bows and 400 luminaria. Nativity sets were arranged and garland hung.

We have printed 1,000 bulletins and made arrangements for overflow seating and online services, as well. We’ve arranged extra masks and visitor cards and the like.

We are preparing like it is Christmas.

We have had lots of conversations in which the inevitable question comes up, “How many people will come?” With coronavirus and its variants, who knows how many will come to worship tonight? There are so many uncertainties and questions.

But we are preparing like it is Christmas.

At that first Christmas, Mary must have been rather surprised by the number of folks who showed up! There were shepherds and, of course, their animals, too. Heavenly host arrived. Then some magi. Then, for who knows what reason, a kid with a drum apparently showed up too (just what every tired mom hopes for).

They tried to prepare for everything. They looked for some kind of safety—or just a place to rest for a while. They ended up in a stable or a cave or the basement of an inn depending on which scholar or translation of the story you read.

But they couldn’t prepare for everything. They certainly couldn’t prepare for the sheer awe of what was to unfold in their lives because of this one birth. They couldn’t prepare for the joy and wonder of it all. They couldn’t prepare for the confusion, the pride, and the pain they would know. They couldn’t prepare for Him to come back again just as they came to grips with the loss.

There was no way to prepare for all that Jesus was, for who He was, and for who He would become. But we have heard the story before. We know we should get ready. We know we think it should mean something—that it must mean something.

So we are preparing like it is Christmas.

I don’t know how many will show up tonight. But I do know that One will. And for Him we should offer all that we have, all that we are, and all that we long to become. We should deck the halls, ring the bells, sing, pray, and shed a tear or two.

We still can’t comprehend all that it means for us to worship, as those angels and shepherds and magi and that kid with the drum did, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We can’t comprehend it—but we can try to get ready.

No matter who shows up, we can prepare like it is Christmas–for unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given.

So we are preparing because it is Christmas.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert