Dear Rose Park,
Last night was a beautiful service; not because of anything I did or said, but because we were able to gather as God’s people in God’s house to hear from God’s Word, sing praises to God’s name, and celebrate the birth of God’s Son, Jesus.
But the party doesn’t stop there. Our celebrating shouldn’t be limited to the walls of the church or the words of our songs. Our celebrating should carry over to our time gathered with family and friends around the tree and table. The spirit of ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’ should bleed into the way we give and receive gifts, the way we hold hands and pray, the way we offer grace and forgiveness, and even the way we embrace in-laws, cousins, and family friends.
Too often we attempt to separate our life with Christ from our work life, family life, and social life. If we take seriously what it means to be disciples of the Christ-child then we cannot compartmentalize life into smaller groupings hoping that Jesus will stay where we put Him. Instead, there is simply life and Christ is Lord of it all. Christ comes as an innocent child but He also comes with all the authority of heaven; He comes with a sweet coo as an infant but also with a roar as the Lion of Judah.
As we gather and enjoy good food and drink with family and friends, let our celebration not end with ‘Silent Night’ but instead may our love and adoration for the King of kings and the Lord of lords be brought into everything we do and everything we say.
Grace & Peace and Merry Christmas!
Pastor Mark