Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! I want to begin by reminding you that on Sunday, Christmas Day, we will be worshiping during a single service at 10:00 am. It will be a simple service with Christmas carols and Christmas stories. You are also welcome (and encouraged!) to come to church in your pajamas (as is our tradition the Sunday after Christmas Eve). I’ll be wearing the Christmas sweater I’ve worn every Christmas morning since my kids gave it to me a few years ago! The service will be livestreamed using a very simple set-up. Also, don’t forget to attend one of our Christmas Eve services on Saturday at either 4:30 pm (kid-friendly family service), 8:00 pm (candlelight service with choir and bells), and 10:30 pm (candlelight service with soloists).
I’ve been thinking about Christmas surprises this week and reflecting on some of the times I’ve been surprised in life. During my last year of my first graduate program, I was living in Illinois and Laura was living in New York. We were dating long-distance, and she came to visit me for Christmas. At the bottom of her Christmas stocking were some hand-made crafts I had bought from an international fair-trade store, and one of the crafts was a small jewelry box made from cinnamon bark. Inside the jewelry box was an engagement ring, which I then used to “pop the question.” It is still one of my favorite Christmas memories.
While it wasn’t on Christmas, one of the biggest surprises I’ve ever received was in October 2015. Laura and I were living in New Jersey and expecting the birth of our daughter Esther at any moment. Friends from our church invited us over for dinner. We arrived to their house and stood in the kitchen, chatting for about 10 minutes until they invited us into the dining room, which was behind a closed door. They opened the door, and Laura and I were both shocked to see so many of our friends from the church waiting to surprise us with a baby shower. They didn’t want to startle an almost 9-month pregnant Laura with a loud, “Surprise!” – so it was a quiet greeting, which kind of added to the effect! It was a wonderful surprise that made us feel very loved and supported as we were about to enter a new phase of our lives.
As I think about these surprises, I realize that what makes them so special is the people involved with the surprise. I don’t remember what we had for dinner or the gifts we received at the baby shower. But I do remember each of the people who were there to show their love and support, people we still stay in contact with and visit when we can. I don’t remember what Laura got me for Christmas the year we got engaged, but I do feel so grateful every day that she is my partner and that we are building our lives together.
This Christmas, as you experience and receive some holiday surprises, I pray that you will feel the love of people – kids, grandkids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, friends, or neighbors. Above all, I pray that you will feel the love of God – who gave us the greatest surprise of all. God put on human flesh and showed up at our own home on that first Christmas, just to demonstrate that we are never alone. This Christmas and on every day – you are never alone!
Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron