Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

This is a special musical performance of Joy of All The Earth by the Chancel Choir at  Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan with a solo by Ryan Thompson at the 10pm Christmas Eve service.

This is a special musical performance of O Holy Night performed by Lindsay Snyder at the 10pm Christmas Eve service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of O Holy Night performed by Lindsay Snyder at the 10pm Christmas Eve service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of O Holy Night performed by Chris & Paige Lewis at the 4pm Christmas Eve service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This is a special musical performance of O Holy Night performed by Chris & Paige Lewis at the 4pm Christmas Eve service at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan.

This year, Ken and I were gifted with two new grandbabies.  And, next year, another grandbaby will make his or her appearance in our lives.  I must say, there is nothing like the joy of seeing each of these babies for the first time.  I think many of us can relate to that feeling and experience.  Seeing and holding a new baby is a precious, holy experience, and I do believe it changes us.  Seeing the beauty of a baby’s face and recognizing in that face the miracle and gift of life that has been born into this world is an experience treasured by almost everyone.  And, on this night, we come to this place wanting to catch a glimpse of a baby.   We come to get a glimpse of the Christ child who has been born among us, born to us and born for us. 

The Christmas season gets so very busy and many of us find our lives filled up with all kinds of time-consuming details – schedules to keep, presents to buy and wrap, parties and concerts to attend, rooms to clean, decorations to put up and get in place, food to prepare.  The list seems rather endless.  But, on this night of nights, all of that busyness is to be laid aside.  On this night of nights, all our striving, our actions and our efforts are to be put aside, because this night is all about gift.  On this night of nights, as we come hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby that has been born, I invite you to let go of your adult issues, let go of your worries and let go of all the noise that challenges your minds.  I invite you to enter into the mystery and wonder that God holds before us, because this is a night that is all about the gift of God’s love for the cosmos.

Quite honestly, the story of this night must be told to us again and again because we are hardheaded, heartless and greedy.   So, at least once a year, we need to proclaim and hear the story about a vulnerable, precious baby that brings change to the world.  We need to celebrate the incarnation and be reminded that the God of creation came in the flesh as one who bears our nature in order that we might be healed.  We need to hear the news that the God of the cosmos pitched a tent among us and took an address in our neighborhood by taking on human flesh and blood.  You see, the incarnation is all about the fleshing out of the grace of God – God’s descent into this broken world so that God might raise us up.  And, as Presbyterian theologian, Frederick Buechner, once said, “What keeps the wild hope of Christmas alive year after year in a world notorious for dashing all hopes is the haunting dream that the child who was born that day may yet be born again even in us.”

The birth of this child is not just a one-time event that took place a long time ago in a lonely, wretched stable.  No, it is a birth that happens throughout our lives and our faith journey as God continues to become incarnate in us.  As Thomas Merton once said:

Christ is born in us today

In order that he may appear

To the whole world through us.

You see, the beauty of this night is that we again rejoice in God’s coming anew, not as a newborn Babe, but as the hidden presence of God born within each one of us and among us.  The beauty of this night is that, to our great astonishment, we have now become God’s dwelling place as God is at work being born through us.   I find 13th century German mystic, Meister Eckart’s words, helpful on this night.  He wrote, “We, each one of us, are called to be mothers of God – for God is always waiting to be born.”  We become like Mary and we are now God’s Bethlehem.  When talking about Mary and how we become like her, listen to what theologian, Barbara Brown Taylor, writes in her book, Mixed Blessings:

On the one hand [Mary] was just a girl, an immature and frightened girl who had the good sense to believe what an angel told her in what seemed like a dream. On the other hand, she was the mother of the Son of God, with faith enough to move mountains, to sing about the victories of her son as if he were already at the right hand of his father instead of a dollop of cells in her womb. … When we allow God to be born in us, there is no telling, no telling at all, what will come out.

Friends, this Child is as close to us as our very soul. Yes, often hidden away under doubts and denials in our lives, but deep within us waiting to be born anew. The question is not where will we find the Child, for the Child is everywhere. The question is whether we will bow to the Child. The question is whether we will serve the preciousness, the sacredness, and the healing energies of God that have been planted deep within this Child.  The question is whether we will live our lives in such a way that the love of the Christ child shows through us.

On this night of nights as we contemplate the love of Christ shining through our lives, I share with you more words from author and retired Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner.  I have shared this story with you before, but it is worth sharing again.  Buechner writes:

A minister friend told of a Christmas pageant in which he once participated when he was the rector of an Episcopal church. The manger was down in front at the chancel steps where it always is. Mary was there in a blue mantle and Joseph in a cotton beard. The wise men were there with a handful of shepherds and of course, in the midst of them all, the Christ child was there, lying in the straw. The nativity story was read aloud by Buechner’s friend.  And, carols were sung at the appropriate places.  All went like clockwork until it came time for the arrival of the angels of the heavenly host as represented by the children of the congregation, who were robed in white and scattered throughout the pews with their parents.  At the right moment they were supposed to come forward and gather around the manger saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men," and that is just what they did except there were so many of them that there was a fair amount of crowding and jockeying for position, with the result that one particular angel, a girl about nine years old who was smaller than most of them, ended up so far out on the fringes of things that not even by craning her neck and standing on tiptoe could she see what was going on. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among men," they all sang on cue, and then in the momentary pause that followed, the small girl electrified the entire church by crying out in a voice shrill with irritation and frustration and enormous sadness at having her view blocked, “Let Jesus show!” 

There was a lot of the service still left to go, but the rector said that one of the best things he ever did in his life was to end everything precisely there. “Let Jesus show!” the child cried out, and while the congregation was still sitting in stunned silence, he pronounced the benediction, and everybody filed out of the church with those unforgettable words ringing in their ears.

So, on this night of nights, come.  Come bring your heart as an offering to this baby.  Come, see and worship the Christ Child because it is Love that is born tonight!  Receive it.  Live in light of it.  And, let Jesus show and shine through you every day of your life!

Let us pray,

Gracious and loving God, you who are the God of millions of faces, yet whom nothing and no one can reveal completely except the face of the child of Bethlehem, we pray to you.  Continue in our lives the mystery of Christmas.  Let your Son become flesh in us so that we may be for all others the revelation of your love.  Amen.

This year, Ken and I were gifted with two new grandbabies.  And, next year, another grandbaby will make his or her appearance in our lives.  I must say, there is nothing like the joy of seeing each of these babies for the first time.  I think many of us can relate to that feeling and experience.  Seeing and holding a new baby is a precious, holy experience, and I do believe it changes us.  Seeing the beauty of a baby’s face and recognizing in that face the miracle and gift of life that has been born into this world is an experience treasured by almost everyone.  And, on this night, we come to this place wanting to catch a glimpse of a baby.   We come to get a glimpse of the Christ child who has been born among us, born to us and born for us. 

The Christmas season gets so very busy and many of us find our lives filled up with all kinds of time-consuming details – schedules to keep, presents to buy and wrap, parties and concerts to attend, rooms to clean, decorations to put up and get in place, food to prepare.  The list seems rather endless.  But, on this night of nights, all of that busyness is to be laid aside.  On this night of nights, all our striving, our actions and our efforts are to be put aside, because this night is all about gift.  On this night of nights, as we come hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby that has been born, I invite you to let go of your adult issues, let go of your worries and let go of all the noise that challenges your minds.  I invite you to enter into the mystery and wonder that God holds before us, because this is a night that is all about the gift of God’s love for the cosmos.

Quite honestly, the story of this night must be told to us again and again because we are hardheaded, heartless and greedy.   So, at least once a year, we need to proclaim and hear the story about a vulnerable, precious baby that brings change to the world.  We need to celebrate the incarnation and be reminded that the God of creation came in the flesh as one who bears our nature in order that we might be healed.  We need to hear the news that the God of the cosmos pitched a tent among us and took an address in our neighborhood by taking on human flesh and blood.  You see, the incarnation is all about the fleshing out of the grace of God – God’s descent into this broken world so that God might raise us up.  And, as Presbyterian theologian, Frederick Buechner, once said, “What keeps the wild hope of Christmas alive year after year in a world notorious for dashing all hopes is the haunting dream that the child who was born that day may yet be born again even in us.”

The birth of this child is not just a one-time event that took place a long time ago in a lonely, wretched stable.  No, it is a birth that happens throughout our lives and our faith journey as God continues to become incarnate in us.  As Thomas Merton once said:

Christ is born in us today

In order that he may appear

To the whole world through us.

You see, the beauty of this night is that we again rejoice in God’s coming anew, not as a newborn Babe, but as the hidden presence of God born within each one of us and among us.  The beauty of this night is that, to our great astonishment, we have now become God’s dwelling place as God is at work being born through us.   I find 13th century German mystic, Meister Eckart’s words, helpful on this night.  He wrote, “We, each one of us, are called to be mothers of God – for God is always waiting to be born.”  We become like Mary and we are now God’s Bethlehem.  When talking about Mary and how we become like her, listen to what theologian, Barbara Brown Taylor, writes in her book, Mixed Blessings:

On the one hand [Mary] was just a girl, an immature and frightened girl who had the good sense to believe what an angel told her in what seemed like a dream. On the other hand, she was the mother of the Son of God, with faith enough to move mountains, to sing about the victories of her son as if he were already at the right hand of his father instead of a dollop of cells in her womb. … When we allow God to be born in us, there is no telling, no telling at all, what will come out.

Friends, this Child is as close to us as our very soul. Yes, often hidden away under doubts and denials in our lives, but deep within us waiting to be born anew. The question is not where will we find the Child, for the Child is everywhere. The question is whether we will bow to the Child. The question is whether we will serve the preciousness, the sacredness, and the healing energies of God that have been planted deep within this Child.  The question is whether we will live our lives in such a way that the love of the Christ child shows through us.

On this night of nights as we contemplate the love of Christ shining through our lives, I share with you more words from author and retired Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner.  I have shared this story with you before, but it is worth sharing again.  Buechner writes:

A minister friend told of a Christmas pageant in which he once participated when he was the rector of an Episcopal church. The manger was down in front at the chancel steps where it always is. Mary was there in a blue mantle and Joseph in a cotton beard. The wise men were there with a handful of shepherds and of course, in the midst of them all, the Christ child was there, lying in the straw. The nativity story was read aloud by Buechner’s friend.  And, carols were sung at the appropriate places.  All went like clockwork until it came time for the arrival of the angels of the heavenly host as represented by the children of the congregation, who were robed in white and scattered throughout the pews with their parents.  At the right moment they were supposed to come forward and gather around the manger saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men," and that is just what they did except there were so many of them that there was a fair amount of crowding and jockeying for position, with the result that one particular angel, a girl about nine years old who was smaller than most of them, ended up so far out on the fringes of things that not even by craning her neck and standing on tiptoe could she see what was going on. "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among men," they all sang on cue, and then in the momentary pause that followed, the small girl electrified the entire church by crying out in a voice shrill with irritation and frustration and enormous sadness at having her view blocked, “Let Jesus show!” 

There was a lot of the service still left to go, but the rector said that one of the best things he ever did in his life was to end everything precisely there. “Let Jesus show!” the child cried out, and while the congregation was still sitting in stunned silence, he pronounced the benediction, and everybody filed out of the church with those unforgettable words ringing in their ears.

So, on this night of nights, come.  Come bring your heart as an offering to this baby.  Come, see and worship the Christ Child because it is Love that is born tonight!  Receive it.  Live in light of it.  And, let Jesus show and shine through you every day of your life!

Let us pray,

Gracious and loving God, you who are the God of millions of faces, yet whom nothing and no one can reveal completely except the face of the child of Bethlehem, we pray to you.  Continue in our lives the mystery of Christmas.  Let your Son become flesh in us so that we may be for all others the revelation of your love.  Amen.

This is a special musical performance from the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan of Holy is His Name with Linda Hirt and Gwynne Kadrofske accompanying on Flute.

This is a special musical performance from the Chancel Choir at Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan of Holy is His Name with Linda Hirt and Gwynne Kadrofske accompanying on Flute.

Come and experience the 2018 Christmas Pageant with youth from Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Michigan