Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we are practicing for the 3:00 Christmas Eve pageant. It is always fun – and hectic! It is also a reminder of the love for this story that so many kids have. I’ve attached a picture below of our youngest staring intently at every movement and scene. He knows the story by heart now having been in the pageant for the last five years. He asks, “Where is Gabriel now? Why are the wise men not here yet? Is Elizabeth sewing? Why is Herod being mean?”

Lots and lots of questions come as we hear the story unfold. Ultimately though, what remains after some answers, no answers, or half-answers is the wonder. What remains is the intent desire to rest a while in its mystery.

In any relationship, we could probably not rattle off every kind deed a person did for us or we for them. We probably can though re-tell some special or deep moments that stand out vividly. We might be able to say what we were eating when we heard news of a new child. We might be able to talk about the temperature and the direction of the breeze when a surprise marriage proposal came.

This story holds our attention. It is deep and vivid. It stands out and apart for its depth and beauty. Yet, it is one piece of a long, long engagement with God’s love. It sets the stage for a lifetime of considering the many ways God is with us – ways we might not always remember or be able to re-tell with any great detail. Yet that faithfulness is as much a part of the whole story.

What we might take away from the Christmas story is the reminder to pay attention, close attention, to the moments and movements that hold on to us. With such focus we might remember to look more closely at the story of our lives and see in them God’s love at work again and again.

The miracle of God with Us is not that it once happened but that it happens still. Day in and day out. With each breath out and in. Love by love. Loss by loss. From one moment to the next. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert