Dear Caldwell,
Well, it happened again.
Today, the Caldwell Women’s Circle held its annual Christmas luncheon – and I walked out fully in the Christmas spirit. This fun and festive occasion comes each year, and each year it causes me to slow down for a couple of hours, enjoy the fellowship of friends and teammates on the church staff, count my blessings and turn in a new and real way toward Bethlehem. Special thanks to Circle Chair Elaine Hultman and all the amazing, faithful ladies of the circle.
That’s the way it is with the traditions of our various seasons and holy seasons. We count on their occasions and rhythms to catch hold of us – even when we are distracted – so we can experience their richness. We are moving into a season of several special services here – old and new – to mark Advent. I hope they will have the same effect on you. They include our Christmas breakfast (morning of Dec. 18) and joint-choir concert (afternoon of Dec. 18), our “blue Christmas” longest night service on Dec. 21 and, of course, Christmas Eve . I hope you can come – and bring a friend to share in the season.
We always know where to look on these occasions to find our Lord. Then, sometimes, God appears to us in unexpected ways, outside our normal routines and patterns. Sometimes God shows up out of place. That’s what we will think about together Sunday in worship as we read Isaiah 35:1-10, an oracle of hope to a beleaguered, downtrodden people.
Most unexpected of all, God showed up in human form in the person of a vulnerable baby born in the real world, in “such mean estate” as the hymn “What Child Is This?” says. What an unlikely debut of the Almighty, but one that says everything about the God we worship.
So, as we move from Sunday to Sunday this week, we move from the God of hope of last Sunday’s sermon to the God of mystery in this Sunday’s message. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears, hearts and souls open to where God may appear or speak to you out of place. You might be surprised. At least, I hope you will.
Look for Caldwell This Week on Friday with the full rundown of life with your Caldwell family.
In Christ,
John