For as long as my kids have been alive, they’ve known and loved Uncle Todd, Uncle Lloyd, and Sims, members of the Echelon band. Yes, I’ve played music with these three for thirty years, but that isn’t why my kids treat them like family. Instead, the steady flow of humor, care, attentiveness, and love from these bandmates to my children have forged a lasting relationship and been a reminder of their enduring connection. They are central people in the lives of my kids – us, too – who love and encourage us in powerful ways.
I’m grateful to see these meaningful connections in your life, too. lt has been a delight to hear stories about holiday adventures and see images on social media of your many families, some of whom are blood relatives, along with others who are members of your extended chosen family of friends. I can only imagine the laughter and love shared through your time of togetherness.
It could be easy for us to center our Christmas and Epiphany celebrations only around Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, but the Bible stories we hear and share this time of year won’t permit us to do so. Instead, we are nudged to embrace a broader circle of relationships as we hear about angels from the realms of glory filling the night sky with their radiance and songs, sleepy shepherds scrounging their belongings together in the middle of the night to head across town to see this new little precious One, and sky watchers coming from a faraway land when they recognize a shift in the heavens. All sorts of characters from beyond the family bloodline and Bethlehem region become players in God’s story of grace.
In this ever-unfolding story, we also hear about aunts and uncles, cousins and church leaders, community types and strangers in the land, as well as others who seek and welcome Jesus. As he grew, friends and even enemies became like family. During the final moments of his earthly life, Jesus even presided over an adoption ceremony between his mother and one of his disciples (John 19:25b-27).
I’m grateful that the rhythm of prayer in our weekly worship continually connects us to specific people and places beyond our congregation, as we lift up our joys and concerns. I’m grateful that the words of the Apostles’ Creed remind us that we believe in and are part of something bigger than ourselves, the “holy catholic [universal] Church.” I’m grateful that we leave our space fueled for God’s mission to live, share, and celebrate with all people.
One of the most poignant images of this past Advent and Christmas was Kelly Latimore’s “Christ in the Rubble.” "This new icon,” Latimore explains, “illustrates the prophetic message that if Jesus was born today, he would be born ‘under the rubble.’
“Our hope is that this icon, ‘Christ in the Rubble’ will create more dialogue among Christians in the United States during this holy season about the ways our beliefs and actions - or lack thereof - contribute to the violence we're currently witnessing in Gaza. How can we shape a culture of Christianity where love truly has no boundaries? How do we create a world where our poor, homeless, refugee, Palestinian Savior - born to a teenage mother and later condemned to death - would be cherished had he been born today?” (www.kellylatimoreicons.com)
I haven’t been able to shake this image from my mind. We cannot look away from the terror, dread, and trauma. We also cannot look away from the Hope that God brings to the world again and again with the promise of redemption and grace for all.
Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me,
Pastor Lowell