December 5, 2020

“The time has come,” Jesus said. “The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Dear Friend,

The calendar has now flipped over to the month of December.  We find ourselves beginning to think about the end of 2020. One more month and this bizarre year will officially be over.  We may have begun wondering and worrying about what 2021 will bring.  We know that the year listed on the top of the calendar does not actually control the events of our lives, yet many of us find the idea of starting a new year to be an opportunity in which we can focus on our desires and hopes for the future.  A new year mean new goals, new plans, new hopes and dreams.  This way of keeping track of time can be a helpful way of organizing our activities and efforts.

As Christians we are part of a long tradition of people who also keep time in a very different way.  For nearly two thousand years, Christians have organized time in ways that were formational in the life of the adherents.  We may know this as the Christian Calendar, the Church Calendar, or the Liturgical Calendar.  But some of us may not be familiar with this other calendar for Christians.  We may be aware of Christmas and Easter, but not other seasons in the life of the church.

Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, which is the beginning of the new Church Year.  Advent is more than a time to count down the days until Christmas; Advent is a time where we focus on the significance of Christ’s arrival. We anticipate it. We prepare for it.  We wait for it. 

This year at Battle Creek First Church, the focus of our Advent services is “Welcome to Christmas.”  The goal is to help each of us see that Christmas is not just about baby Jesus being born.  The arrival of Jesus is accompanied by the arrival of God’s kingdom. And the arrival of God’s Kingdom is good news! In the Kingdom of God there is Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. And not the world’s versions of those things, but the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of God are made present. 

There is a difficult tension that we experience during Advent.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born, the Kingdom was made known, those who could see it and hear it declared Emmanuel! God is with us!  But as we look around, we see that the world is still very much ruled by the kingdoms of this world.  Not everything is how God created it to be.  Not everything and everyone has submitted to God’s reign on Earth.  Even though there are many who declare that God is ruler of all creation, there is much of creation that still does not know that truth, or if they do know, they do not submit to it. 

So we find ourselves having to acknowledge both realities.  God’s kingdom has come in Christ, yet God’s kingdom is not established everywhere.  As the church, we are blessed because we can experience now what all of creation will someday experience – the Kingdom of God.  We, as the church get to experience the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love of God this very moment! Right now!  Others do not yet have that experience. They do not know the hope of declaring Jesus as King. They do not know the peace of living as a citizen of the Kingdom.  They do not know the joy of reconciliation and redemption. They do not know the love that their Heavenly Father has for them.

With that in mind, Christmas is often celebrated with a candlelight service.  The darkness is still present. The darkness still persists. Yet Christ brings the light of God into that darkness.  That little bit of light that is present now is still enough to pierce the darkness.  That little bit of light is still enough to demonstrate the beauty found in that light.  That little bit of light is still enough to be shared with our neighbor so that they too might experience the Kingdom of God in our midst. 

I hope you can tell how much I love the Advent and Christmas seasons of the church.  I have been anxiously waiting for this time in the life of the church.  And I had big hopes for what we all could experience this year.  But the coronavirus has interrupted and disrupted our plans.  As we began our Advent services last Sunday we found ourselves gathering in an online-only format.  As we pay close attention to our communities, there is still some uncertainty as to what the next few weeks will look like.  Battle Creek First Church is committed to doing our very best to be faithful to the calling God has placed upon us, even if the methods have to be modified. 

Along with this letter you should have received a postcard-sized invitation to our Advent/Christmas services.  My original plan was to send these invitation cards home with the people of our church so that we could give them to our friends and families. As Christians we have already experienced the good news of Christmas, and these cards were to help us invite others to know that experience as well.  We give them to you now hoping that you might be able to still invite people to experience all that Christmas has to offer this year, knowing that a large gathering of celebration is not likely to happen.

I pray that these simple cards inspire you to think of someone that is living in the darkness; someone who has yet to experience the light of Christ or the presence of God’s Kingdom here and now.  As God brings people to mind, I pray that these cards can serve as an invitation or, at the least, a conversation starter.  My hope for this season is this:  people in despair find hope; people who are troubled, find peace; people who are grieving and mourning find joy; and people who are isolated and alone find love.  Join me in praying that God will meet countless people this year. Pray that they will experience God’s Kingdom in their midst.  Pray that they experience Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love in a new and powerful way.  May our voices join with the voice of God as together we all declare to them, “Welcome to Christmas!” 

Grace and Peace to you,

Pastor Tanner