St. Luke's Blogs

Just two years and one day apart in age, my older brother, Josh, and I were set up for a rivalry-filled childhood full of arguments, tattling, and plenty of competition for attention. Typical sibling stuff. The holidays, however, brought us close together. As a child, Josh was enamored with the holidays, all of them. As the older brother, he wanted me to feel the same excitement he did over the upcoming holiday; he would make me sit in his bedroom for hours while he went through his stash of 4th of July fireworks (yes, he had a stash of fireworks in his room). At Halloween, we would dig through his treasure trove of Halloween costumes, scary masks, and make plans for the front yard haunted house (whole other story). In the weeks before Christmas, we would decorate his bedroom, drag up a tiny Christmas tree, and adorn it with twinkle lights and ornaments he had swiped from my mother’s collection…

Years ago, my daughter Sabreana and I were unpacking the Christmas decorations. I was absent-mindedly setting out decorations and I heard Sabreana muttering and scratching around in boxes. She was getting upset and fearing for the Christmas decorations; I asked her what was wrong. “We’ve lost Baby Jesus!” was her response. Sabreana knew it wasn’t Christmas without the Baby Jesus to put into the nativity set – so she was afraid that there wouldn’t be any Christmas…

In 2013, my dad and I were blessed to travel to Israel with a group of fellow believers.  One special memory was the evening we went to Bethlehem to an area between the Shepherd’s Fields and the Nativity Church to a place called the Tent Restaurant.  Palm trees, olive orchards, and native plants surrounded it, with mountains in the background.  When we stepped inside the dining area, we noticed Bedouin style rugs on the floor and a beautiful stone entryway to the dining area.  Wonderful smells poured from the kitchen as we settled down to relax at the low tables and couches spread with tapestries.  We were promptly attended by wait staff, who were eager to show us Middle Eastern hospitality…

I 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 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

The gospel of John presents the coming of Jesus – not through a birth story, but through a beautiful theological prologue. This first chapter states that Jesus is the Word, the Life, and the Light. Jesus truly is God’s presence revealed to us. Here, from these beginning verses of John that tell us about Jesus, we also learn that there was darkness. We have all faced difficult times and struggles that we might consider to be dark times. There could be the darkness in our lives from loss, loneliness, anger, depression, grief, or stress. But even though there was darkness, this scripture states already that the darkness does NOT overcome the light. The light of Christ shines through – what an incredible promise!

The title for this year’s Advent sermon series is, “The Hopes and Fears of All the Years.” It comes from a line in the Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem. Another section of the carol that I find quite meaningful is, How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of the heav’ns.

Consider what happened the night that Jesus was born. Bethlehem was an ordinary town, but full of people who had returned to register for the census. Joseph and Mary were probably traveling at a slower pace than the other people due to Mary’s advanced pregnancy, so the inns were full by the time they made it to Bethlehem…

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; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus. 
– Matthew 1:18-25 

As we prepare in Advent for the arrival of God’s only Son into the world, it makes me think about how I prepare my only son for the world as we know it today. There have been many changes that have happened in all our lives, but especially for the children. They’ve gone from full-time school to full-time staying home or full-time childcare.

For my son, these changes seemed to bring him some anxiety. We’ve talked about breathing techniques and different ways to help him when he’s feeling anxious; but my one go-to method when dealing with fear, stress, or anxiety is to pray it out. We usually pray it out together!

2020 was a year like no other with Covid forcing us into isolation. We hung a sign in our proverbial windows that said, “Closed until further notice.” Of course, some were more willing to venture out sooner than others. At St. Luke’s, we did our best to stay in contact, care for all, and to share the Gospel in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. We worshiped with our congregation through the lens of a TV camera every Sunday for months. Our Online Ministry kept us going and connected.
When Advent rolled around a year ago, we knew it would be different…

Just days before Thanksgiving, my daughter began to feel ill. I immediately thought, “She has Covid.” We immediately scheduled a test and by that afternoon she and I had both been tested for the virus and promptly quarantined. As we awaited the results, all the fears that come with the unknown crept into my mind – where has she been, who has she seen, what about school, what about our work, and what about our Thanksgiving plans with family?

During 2020, all of us had some challenges to face that required us to make changes – some more than others. St. Luke’s Children’s Centers had to make some large changes to face the challenges. Our biggest challenge by far was opening our Hope Centers. This was a program endorsed by The Department of Human Services that enabled us to conduct school virtually from our childcare sites.

We were blessed with teachers who were able to step in and work with the children on the online platform for their individual schools. Having virtual school enabled the parents to be able to work and not have to worry whether their child was completing their assignments or having to teach them while doing their job at the same time.

Another challenge was during Christmas.