St. Luke's Blogs

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Charles Dickens wrote the amazing story A Christmas Carol. I have watched the movie version for far too many years to count. It’s one of my favorites. In Dickens’ work, we read of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly, selfish man who lives only for himself and his work. It does not matter what movie version we see; Ebenezer comes off as a miserable person: mean, greedy, abrasive, and very lonely. There are circumstances as to why he feels that way.

As we read the classical book or view one of the movie versions, Ebenezer finds himself in a very uncomfortable position. He is visited by his former partner and three spirits of Christmas: Past, Present and Future. During these encounters, he wrestles with how the past and present appear to define his future. At this point in the story, I would have inserted this phrase, “Ebenezer, our past helps to shape and form us, but it does not have to define us.”

In the beginning of the book of Luke, we find the story about the angel Gabriel coming to visit the young Mary.  The angel first tells Mary that she is highly favored and the Lord is with her.  Then he goes on to explain how she will give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.  Understandably, this message was confusing and even a bit troubling to Mary, who didn’t fully understand what this could mean and how this could be.  Gabriel replies, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Whatever we are facing from our past, whatever we are facing in the present moment, or whatever we will face in the future – I think it’s important that we also can remind ourselves of the angel’s message to Mary…

Although the pandemic was an incredibly scary time for most of us, riddled with uncertainty, my family believed Covid-19 was a blessing for us – because it was the main reason we moved back to Oklahoma from Los Angeles. It also allowed us to spend as much time with each other as possible, since we weren’t able to leave the house. This is not to trivialize anyone’s experience with Covid. I spent weeks in the hospital with it, and unfortunately we lost people close to us. But in the midst of tragedy came something we were desperately seeking: time with one another.

When I think of Christmas, I think of time with family around the tree, sharing a beautiful meal, watching It’s A Wonderful Life, and celebrating our one true King’s birth. Admittedly, in years past, we hadn’t taken the time to do this with family. If we did, it was so brief and rushed that we couldn’t really enjoy our time with those we loved…

My work week is probably just like most of yours: full of emails, meetings, and everyday tasks. I am lucky to have a few hours each week teaching and listening to children talk and learn about God. This is a very bright part of my week, but the children probably teach me more than I will ever be able to teach them.

Each week, I ask if there is anything that the children would like to celebrate with the entire group. I get all kinds of answers: my friend had a birthday party, I have a loose tooth, I got an extra recess at school this week, and the list goes on and on.

It’s funny how they always have something to celebrate and be excited about. I think as we get older and busier with life, we forget about the little things in life to celebrate. Too often, I look past mine…

One of my favorite holiday movies is Scrooged. Bill Murray played the role based on Ebenezer Scrooge and Carol Kane played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. I read an article where Carol Kane talked about her dancing scene in the movie. She was supposed to have a serious dance scene that would mainly be performed by a professional ballerina. But they would need to have transitions of Carol dancing to blend with the ballerina to make it believable.

So, Carol took ballet lessons and worked hard to be ready for the scene. After several difficult weeks, she knew that she was ready. She met the film’s art director at the studio to show him the result of her hard work. Knowing that she would have a professional ballerina as her double, she wanted her dancing to be as pretty as possible. She was concentrating on each move but soon she was distracted – by laughing. The art director was laughing so hard that he was almost crying…

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

I leave my house early every Sunday morning. It is dark and there are very few cars on the road. Before I leave my driveway, I turn on my worship playlist and begin singing songs of praise to God as I prepare myself for worship that morning. Sometimes, I sing all the way to the church. Sometimes, I turn off the music and spend time in praying…I am glad it is dark or other drivers might just think I am crazy.

That time in the car is so important to me as I prepare to encounter God in worship. It gives me a few minutes of peace and focus before the business of Sunday morning begins. I find it important to take extra time to draw still and open my heart and mind to God. I know that when I do this, I am more prepared to receive God and God’s word that day…