St. Luke's Blogs

“…with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26

The world changed on October 5, 1957.  The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik into orbit. In just a few years, on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The United States quickly followed with launching Alan Shephard into space. On May 5, 1961, the United States launched Freedom 7 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The race to space had captured the world’s attention. It took years to develop the systems that would deliver satellites and these two pioneers beyond our world.

Sending people to space has become routine… almost.

The Christmas season is a special time of year. Although it is a busy time of year, it is made special when we take time to enjoy the season with our friends and family. Sadly, many people spend Christmas away from their loved ones. Often it is work that takes people away from celebrating Christmas with others. When Hal Vaughn realized that he would not see his daughter on Christmas, he went to great lengths to spend the day with her.

Peirce Vaughn is a flight attendant with Delta. She was scheduled to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She loves her job but wanted to be with her family on Christmas. Her father decided that if she could not come home for Christmas, he would just go to her…

“And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people’.” Luke 2:10

Since 1965, Charles Schultz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas has aired on television. For many people it has become as much a part of the Christmas tradition as Santa Clause, Christmas trees, and Christmas music. It is a television program that I have seen countless times.  In this animated show, the Peanuts gang is up to their usual antics, both in and out of school. The climax of the show is when Charlie Brown continues to ask, in great desperation, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

It is Linus, the smart, thumb-sucking, blanket-carrying member of the Peanuts who tells Charlie Brown that he knows the meaning of Christmas…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

My favorite moments of Christmas Eve are listening to O Holy Night and then getting to stand next to my mom as we all sing, Silent Night. Both carols help me to experience the true meaning of Christmas. O Holy Night shares the message that the birth of Jesus delivers the world from oppression and sin. Silent Night speaks to the peace, quiet, and holiness of the night that Christ was born. It might seem that the two contradict each other, Silent Night being about the quiet and stillness, and O Holy Night is talking about the angel voices and our voices singing hymns of joy. But both songs show how Christmas was then and is now…

One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas is the church candy bags given out at the small church where I grew up. Every year on the Sunday closest to Christmas, children and adults alike were handed a brown paper bag as they left church. I loved the crinkle of the bag as I opened it, eager to see what treats were inside. There would always be an apple and an orange, raw walnuts, pecans, almonds, and always a few funny-looking Brazil nuts. Iusually gave the fruit and nuts to my grandma. I was interested in the real prizes: hard Christmas candies and a candy bar, seemingly either a Mounds or an Almond Joy.

The origin of this tradition is not clear, but some historians trace it back to the 18th century, when German immigrants brought the custom of giving fruits and nuts to their children on Christmas Eve…

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. – Psalm 42:1

When listening to my favorite Christmas carol, O Holy Night, I tend to hear the beauty in the lyrics worshiping God: Fall on your knees and Let all within us praise His Holy Name are two of my favorite lines. In fact, that’s what I initially planned to write about.

But then something new stuck out to me. Something that has always been there, but chose to reveal itself to me as I was writing.

Long lay the world, in sin and error, pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

The soul felt its worth. How often do we question our worth in this world? Our worth in our relationships, our abilities, our identity?

About two years ago, I came across a children’s book entitled Be Kind that I purchased on a whim. It has made its way into a regular rotation of nightly reading with our girls.

In the book, the child narrator is describing ways that you can be kind to others: “You can listen to Aunt Franny’s stories (even though you have heard them 1,000 times before)” and last night this spurred a thought for me.

Oftentimes my husband, grandparents, etc. will tell me stories over and over again…

rs, it opens up our capacity for joy.

This made me think of the line in O Holy Night, A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. I want to focus specifically on the latter part of this line, the weary world rejoices. I have to think that when faced with seemingly all of the world’s problems, Angela Williams can at times feel weary. Yet she continues to choose joy…

I have been blessed to lead two St. Luke’s trips to the Holy Land. My favorite places to visit are the Sea of Galilee and surrounding areas. They are not only more rural settings, but they are less crowded and quieter. When you visit holy sites in Jerusalem, there are more people and I find it a bit more difficult to have a reflective moment amidst the noise and busyness. But, the noise, people, and busyness were all part of life during the time of Christ.

Whenever we imagine the “perfect Christmas,” we sometimes think of a quiet scene where everything in the house is perfectly in place, perfectly decorated, and perfectly serene. But is that really the goal of Christmas, let alone realistic?