Worship Preview 12.22.24 Advent 4 (and Christmas Eve on the 24th)

This Sunday: 10:30am – Advent 4: Peace is More Than Quiet. Rev. Christopher Eshelman preaching. Scriptures: Isaiah 40:1-11, Jeremiah 6:10-21, and Ephesians 2:1-22

During our Advent series, I’ve been using the Peanuts cartoons of Charles M. Schulz to illustrate how joy is more than happiness, hope is more than longing, love is more than a feeling. This fourth Sunday of Advent, our topic is peace. Peace is more than the absence of violence, more than quiet. Peace is hard to come by. Two of my favorite Peanuts strips speak to this. One is Snoopy on his doghouse as two snowballs fly over from outside the frame. The next panel, Snoopy stands up and shouts Peace!  The final frame there are dozens of snowballs…. another is good ol’ Charlie Brown at Lucy’s Psychiatrist booth talking about how hard life is and asking how he can protect himself. Lucy responds “Try wearing a helmet. Five cents, please.”

Life is hard. There are no easy protections or avoidances and trying to make things better often puts us in the crossfire. I wrote in another place recently that “Candidly, I’m struggling.” And talked about the news of the world, the violence, hatred, division. I’ll admit I have not been very “holly, jolly” this year – and yet Christmas comes. Peace is encountering Christ. God who comes to a broken and divided world full of violence, hatred, greed, and misuse of power – and becomes flesh. Born of a woman from an oppressed people on the margins of empire. Born an infant, utterly depended on Mary and Joseph and their village. And we gather to light candles, sing carols, and proclaim peace on earth and goodwill to all. We gather because of who that child is, the path he shows us as he grows in wisdom and strength. The way of faith, of service. He exemplifies gentleness that is not weakness, humility that is not self-depreciating, compassion that rejects legalism but nonetheless calls us to repentance. He is the light that darkness cannot overcome – and recognizing that, seeing it, partaking in it, brings peace. I am reminded of the words of poet Amanda Gorman "there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it." This is our call as Christians.

We hope you will join us Sunday at 10:30 we will consider these things.

Then again on Tuesday at 7pm as we share the wonder of our traditional Christmas Eve with carols, candlelight, and communion. You are invited to both! I sometimes wrestle a bit with whether to offer Holy Communion on Christmas Eve. That hint of a reminder of betrayal and death on a night of celebration. I had someone ask me once "Can't the myrrh wait even a few days?" - yet I like the tradition. I love the way the open table of my faith connects with the traditional candlelight - the whole movement of carols, communion, and candlelight - the telling of the story in these ways. It works. Christmas and Easter are connected... and what comes between is crucial. God becomes flesh not as an elite ruler, but as a dependent infant. A child who will grow in strength and wisdom just as we do. God who knows what it is to be human. Just as in Jesus day, the world struggles with the brokenness of violence, greed and excess – and Christ comes in the midst of it.

The beauty of lighting candles together, singing Silent Night, brings a peace that surpasses understanding, a moment that lingers throughout our lives. A weary world rejoices... and we are reminded that it's all connected... creation, incarnation, the life and way of Jesus... the suffering, death AND resurrection. God's grace promises that someday we'll get it. In that, I find peace that is more than quiet. And I am called to respond. Sunday I’ll share a a popular summation of John Wesley's teachings that I find accurate and helpful even if there is no direct evidence he ever said it this concisely. May it be so.

Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

To all the people you can.

In all the places you can.

al long as every you can.

~attributed to John Wesley

If you do not have a church home, or if it’s time for a change, we invite you to take this Advent journey with us. We meet each Sunday at 10:30am at 301 S. National. Come as you are, wear what you have, and join with others as we sing, pray, and seek to to find our path and share our journey! Blessings in this holy season. 

Upcoming Events: 

Tuesday 7pm - Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion – our beloved traditional service with real candles, carols and of course, Silent Night. Christ invites you to the table - invite a friend!

A Reminder – to give our volunteers a break, Feeding Families in His Name will be closed for Christmas and New Years – we will return with our weekly free meal on Wednesday, January 8th. We’ve served 170,000 meals with the help of our many partners. If you would like to support this ministry, you can make donations online at: www.firstumcfortscott.org/onlinegiving.