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LET THERE BE CHRISTMAS
LET THERE BE CHRISTMAS ....................................2-3 BIBLE 101: IN A MESS..............................................4-5 community life / REFORMATION WEEKEND..... 6-7 CHRISTMAS CANTATA .............................................8-9 FAITH & FAMILY.......................................................... 10 REFORMATION WEEKEND / COntact Us .................11
by Lead Pastor Joel Wight Hoogheem (joel@lordoflife.org)
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When God speaks, things happen. The imaginative telling of the creation story in Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Through the prophet Isaiah, God declares: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) God sends light. God’s word fulfills its purpose. In his telling of the coming of Jesus, perhaps the gospel writer John had these ideas in mind when he wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through him, and without him
LET THERE BE CHRISTMAS
not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5) At its very heart, the Christmas story is all about God making good on God’s promises. Just as God created light, God sends the light of Christ to shine hope, peace, joy, and love into the world. We happen to celebrate during the darkest time of the year, so perhaps the contrast of our days with the light of Christ can offer us a reminder that God’s Word—Jesus Christ— fulfills his purpose. God does not remain aloof and distant. God gets right down into the thick of things. The One who declared, “Let there be light” is willing to be born as a vulnerable infant into the perilous existence each one of us faces. This God is worthy of our praise and worship. It’s why we belt out “Joy to the World” and we croon “Silent Night.” We sweetly sing “Away in a Manger” and imagine “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The Word, who was in the beginning, has come and will accomplish the purposes for which he was sent: salvation, life, health, wholeness, renewal.
So it is that every year we both hold onto the traditions that keep giving life and we are renewed with the current realities we face. Christmas may not automatically be a joyful time for all of us. That does not change the coming of Christ we celebrate. If the fanfare and joy make sense to you, celebrate it! If you need to grieve or lament, just know that there is this God made known most fully in Jesus Christ who grieves right alongside you. Even in our darkest days, the light of Christ shines. God continues to declare:
Let there be light. Let there be hope. Let there be peace. Let there be joy. Let there be love.
Let there be Christmas.