The first Sunday in December is the beginning of Advent and our celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. During that season we will journey together, as Mary and Joseph did, but rather than making a hard journey (probably on foot and not on a donkey) of eighty or ninety miles, we will journey through stories of hope, angels, shepherds, prophecy, and love. Many of our traditional decorations have been added but there will undoubtedly be a surprise or two along the way as well.

Since the shutdown of the Covid-19 epidemic, much has changed. One thing that changed was our church attendance. During the shutdown we all moved online, and afterward, not everyone returned. But since then, we’ve been growing, and changing. I hope to say more about that in the next month or two, but if you have been paying attention, some things at Christ Church are different than they were in 2020 and these changes are encouraging.

In any case, during the season of Advent, we will be journeying together, remembering the events that unfolded so long ago, walking with Mary and Joseph, grieving, and celebrating with Elizabeth and Zechariah, sharing the awe and wonder of the shepherds keeping watch on a dark hillside, and in all these things, we remember who we are, where we came from, and why we are here.

As we do during the season of Lent, and as I have said before, Advent is a journey, a time of preparation, a time that we set aside to remember. It is more than just the pre-game show for the big game because we are meant to be more than just spectators in this drama. The Super Bowl would be terrible if the players only showed up for the game in January and had not spent the entire season preparing for it. I invite you all to join us during this Advent season to sing some songs, to hear the stories, to consider what those stories mean, and to prepare our hearts so that we can be truly ready to receive the message of Christmas.

Christmas isn’t just a day on the calendar. It isn’t just a single family gathering and a shared meal like Thanksgiving. It’s bigger, wider, and deeper with more nuance and layers of meaning. I invite you to join us on our Advent adventure during this season of preparation, especially as our church family itself is changing, so that when we arrive at Christmas, we will feel a deeper joy as we draw closer to God, closer to Jesus, closer to our church family, and closer to the people of God.

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