Rachel Fitch
Sid & Cathy Batts Pastoral Resident
As we enter the week leading up to Christmas, it might be busy around your house. We have to-do lists and the days seem to be flying.
Amidst the busyness, however, you might also be caught up in the cyclical pattern of the year — time collapsing, taken back to memories of these days leading up to Christmas, whether that was last year or many years ago. You might be preparing to embark on years or decade-long traditions, or, you, like me, might be thinking about new traditions to make.
Thinking of these, there might be joy, there might be grief as things look different, or there might be a mix of both.
As we come to this time of year, approaching the celebration of the birth of Christ, we pause. We’re reminded of the gift of Christ’s birth, the gift of God’s love made manifest in a new way. We’re reminded of the very particularities of Jesus’ birth — born in Bethlehem to a young mother who was engaged to a carpenter, a family strong in their Jewish faith and of the lineage of David, born into a family that would soon seek asylum for Jesus’ safety, born in a way so as to fulfill the prophecies.
As we prepare for Christ’s birth, knowing that we are saved through Christ, we are reminded afresh of God’s love for us. We are reminded of our call to love — to love as God has first loved us.
And, so, as we pause in this week leading up to Christmas, as we prepare for our own celebrations, we are also mindful of those around us who are in need. We think of ways we can respond to God’s love — perhaps through the food drive on Wednesday, the Presbyterian responses to support those impacted by the tornadoes in and surrounding Kentucky, or by calling a friend or family member for whom Christmas might look different this year.
Each in our own way, we are called to live in response to the love that God has poured out.
In Peace and Joy,
Rachel
