From Dec. 23: Christmas Eve Eve

I hope you are having a joyful Eve of Christmas Eve, and that we’ll see you tomorrow for our service at 7:00. Our Christmas celebrations began early with our fabulous pageant on Sunday. Even after three days of snow, we experienced the Christmas story enacted with gusto by the children of Christ Church and St Peter’s Ugandan Anglican Church who worship here on Sundays. I even got to have Isaiah with me at the altar, as he (being astonishingly calm) followed behind me as we celebrated the Eucharist. The script was funny (and biblically accurate), the costumes were fantastic, and the supporting cast of adults did a great job! Many thanks to Jonathan Duce, our director, and Alison Lasiewski and her family, who made a great holy family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. See www.christchurchwaltham.org to see pictures.

We trudged through the snow back to church at 4:30 for Christingle, also a great event (if a bit smaller than we’d initially hoped, given the weather). A Christingle is an orange, representing the world, with a ribbon circling round, representing the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Four toothpicks with candy on them represent the good gifts of creation (twelve candies and raisins representing the 12 apostles) and the love of God spreading in the four directions. Nothing is outside the reach of God! We sang and enjoyed the choir from St Peter’s, we ate delicious food, and sang Silent Night as the light of Christ (symbolized by our candles in the Christingle oranges) spread through the church and through our lives.

This afternoon, I invite you to a quick moment of prayer and silence before the guests arrive for dinner, before the presents get opened, before the rush carries us away. Here’s a psalm from today’s service for Morning Prayer:

Psalm 67
1 May God be merciful to us and bless us,
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.
2 Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.
7 May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

Let us receive God’s blessing, and stand in awe.