Dear Caldwell,
Apparently, thousands of children and their parents are up in arms after this Christmas because their toy Hatchables don’t work as advertised. A “Hatchable” is a toy egg with a fuzzy toy creature inside, retailing for $59.99-$79.999 a piece. Children and parents are complaining because their Hatchables are taking longer than advertised to hatch.
“The advertisement said all my daughter had to do was rub it for 20 minutes and the egg would open,” said one miffed parent, as quoted by the BBC. “She rubbed on it for an hour and, still, nothing! I’ll be asking for my money back.”
Poor, poor child. (Yes, this is all actually true.)
What will hatch in 2017?
I couldn’t help but shake my weary head over the bitter irony. Some children are having to practice a little extra patience with a toy. Meanwhile, other folks have a little more on our minds, including what will hatch in the new year in our world (as we engage in high stakes manuevering with other super powers), our nation (under the leadership of an unthinkable president) and our city (as we are called to address the reality that we live in “two Charlotte’s,” one for the comfortable and one for those being left behind).
Here is the good news: As followers of Christ, we have a head start. Our new year’s celebration has already come. It began at the first of Advent, climaxes in the glow now of Christmastide (the 12 days of Christmas) and soon, in Epiphany, we will be well on our way toward new possibilities. We are already becoming the people God calls us to be in 2017 and beyond. No waiting around or, as with the Hatchables, extra rubbing required. Christ IS born.
All the better, then, that we celebrate the calendar New Year that begins Sunday, Jan. 1 in worship at 11 a.m. All the better that we can claim the calendar new year for the Lord’s use by enfolding it in what God has already begun.
So, Let’s Dream a Little
Preacher and Worship Leader Abong Fankam will invite us to dream a little, not just any dreams but to consider two of God’s great dreamers. She has chosen Genesis 37:1-10, the Old Testament story of how God worked through the dreamer, Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, a flawed character to be sure but one through whom God worked to save her people.
We will also dream with another Joseph, the father of Jesus. Angels came to Joseph with a message to take the newborn Christ out of danger from the jealous and murderous ruler, Herod. Talk about your head starts …. That story comes from Matthew 2:13-23. Why not start a new spiritual discipline in 2017 by reading and considering Sunday’s text before worship?
I, for one, look forward to returning to the Christmas story: What better reminder that God was and is and will be, whatever happens.
We will also celebrate communion, pray, sing and more. Invite a friend and let’s advance our head start as people of God called to bear witness to the glory of God in Christ, Emanuel, God with us already. No extra rubbing required.
Lastly, please attend to any outstading balances on your 2016 pledges, if applicable. Thank you all for your support.
In Christ,
John