Friday, November 22, 2013

Winter is Coming

November is always a strange time for a pastor.  It's an interesting time of pausing and resting and planning and dreading.

Winter is coming.

Well, okay, that sounds all dramatic and such... but it's Advent that is coming.  And Thanksgiving.  And Christmas.  And New Years.  This means tons of extra services... 6 or 7 weeks in a row of extra services... and services that tend to be highly... sentimental.  That people want just right.  Oh, and the parties.  Don't forget the parties.  A month of 4 or 5 services suddenly becomes a month of 11... and other things, all of which need to be just right.







Think Lent and Easter are rough?

You don't have people in the middle of Lent telling you to get in the Easter Spirit.
You don't have march filled with Dirty Rabbit chocolate exchanges. 
You don't have people telling you that you've ruined Easter when you don't play "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" two weeks before Easter.
There's no worries about trimming the home Cross with all the right ornaments or decorating the house in black drapes.

That's all spring.

Winter is coming.

This is why I haven't posted much this week.  I've been planning for winter.  Because, in addition... there's a little fellow named Ambrose Riley, and his due date is either December 24th or 29th (depending upon whom you ask).

...

So.  What to focus upon?

It's the end of the Church Year.  Christ will come again.
It's Advent.  Christ will come.
It's Christmas.  Christ came in the flesh and He will come again.

It's not all the hoopla.  It's not all the busy-ness.  Not for me, not for you.

Christ is coming - and that is always, always a good thing for those who want forgiveness.  Forgiveness for gross, vile sins, or the sin of messing up Aunt Bessie's just so party.

No comments: