O Come All Ye Faithful

I love hearing and singing the wonderful advent and Christmas hymns. One of my favorite holiday traditions growing up was going caroling at retirement homes and around neighborhoods, ending up sipping hot cocoa or cider and snacking on Christmas cookies at someone's home. Even after college, my bible study always went caroling in a neighborhood in Berkeley. I know all of the verses of the traditional hymns and songs from singing them year after year. 

Today in church we sang "O come, O come Emmanuel." The overt longing of the people of Israel for their savior is dynamically expressed in the melody and words of that hymn. I think it best evokes the spirit of advent. 

The words that resonated the most for me today however,  were "O Come All Ye Faithful." I was moved to tears as I looked around the sanctuary and saw the congregation. So many of these people I have known for years. They faithfully show up week after week, year after year. I know some of their stories of pain and suffering and loss and healing and joy. One friend had suddenly lost his father a few days before. I glimpsed the tears is his eyes and the sadness written across his face.  He was sitting next to long time friends whose very presence was a visible comfort in his grief. 

I am always moved during communion as I watch people que up to receive the elements. I think about how they have made the choice to believe in Jesus and His Church and this congregation.  Not because Jesus had made their lives easy and pleasant, very possibly the opposite of that. Sometime, in some way, the Holy Spirit moved in them and they responded with a "Yes" back. They chose to accept God's offer to be part of his family, to become the church. All of us who have responded yes to God's invitation are grafted into His family, are related to one another in spirit. 

I think my tears today were an expression of the Spirit of God both delighting to be in the presence of the family of God and also aching from the pain and sorrow in people's lives. I have experienced the love and care of so many people in the congregation over the years in good times and hard times. I have seen people selflessly show up and care for their brothers and sisters in times of need.  I have been witness to countless acts of generosity and faithful service. So the words of the hymn, "O Come All Ye Faithful " seemed so wonderfully appropriate. My heart is filled with gratitude that I am part of this congregation. Sometimes absence does make the heart grow fonder. When I have been away from church for a period of time due to traveling, my spirit seems to rejoice at returning "home". I know that no church or congregation is perfect, but First Pres is truly blessed with amazing people who love God and those God has put in their lives. 

Give Until It Hurts?

Tis the season of giving. Giving presents. Giving money to charities. Giving of your tithes and offerings and a bit more. Giving of your precious time and talents as a volunteer.

How much should we give of our money, our time, our hearts, our patience, ourselves? Until it hurts? Is that the best measure because it has pushed us out of our comfort zone? I'm considering that that is not enough or not the correct amount. By stopping at that point, I think we greatly risk wanting to revert back to the place that was more comfortable. What if we pushed past the point of it simply hurting and to the place where we finally let go of it all? What if we realized that everything we have and are doesn't really belong to us but to God? Once we get through the pain and fear and panic of not being in control of what we believe rightly belongs to us, we can more fully be open to receive God's more than abundant blessings and provisions. And joy! And peace which surpasses our understanding. 

It is necessary to have wisdom about which things to give ourselves and our resources to. Knowing when to say no, so you have the ability to say yes to the right things, is key. This is different for everyone. We need to listen with our hearts and when we feel the tug to say yes, we need to lean in and give abundantly. 

I know many people have had the joy of  receiving God's blessings when they allowed themselves to be for awhile in that hard place of offering themselves, their time and gifts even when it was difficult. First Pres recently did an issue of their First Pres Times on the Street Meal. The testimony of many of the regular volunteers was of simply being willing to show up and give of their time and energy, even though they felt uncomfortable in the beginning. Their willingness to feel awkward turned eventually into an experience of being blessed themselves by the people they are serving. It's the upside down message found time and again in scripture, by giving we receive. And not in the quid pro quo sort of way of "I'll give you a present and you'll give me one". This sort of giving has the ability to transform us and what we receive in return has more value than what we thought we gave.