NoteworthY

Spring Retreat

Taking place Spring 2010.

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Perpetual Food Drive

Every Sunday there will be a basket, one in each vestibule, for you to deposit non-perishable food items.

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Dear Friends of Indian Trail Presbyterian Church,

Of all the ways God could have chosen to come to earth in human form, it has always amazed me that the divine choice was through a baby born to a young blue-collar couple in the humble surroundings of a stable surrounded by animals, shepherds, and angels. For the gospel writer Luke, the context is significant. God’s grace isn’t just meant for the rich and the influential. God’s love is meant for all of God’s children and especially the poor, the sick, and those who live on the margins of society. The Bethlehem story is indeed a wonderful means by which God has conveyed to us the richness of God’s love. Yet, the importance of Christmas is much more than what we might perceive as a picturesque scene out of a Hallmark greeting card.

At our Wednesday Bible studies, we have begun the process of trying to discern a more thorough understanding of Christmas using scripture and Bible characters we don’t ordinarily associate with Christmas. For instance, in last week’s lesson, we looked at how Christmas is related to the story of Adam and Eve. We all remember how God had placed the first two humans in a garden of exquisite beauty and perfection. They had a pretty good thing going and yet they willfully disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of the tree God had expressly told them not to eat. From a Biblical standpoint, this was the first sin and ever since that time, humankind has continued to disobey God. Our author reminds us that there simply wouldn’t have been a need for Christmas if it wasn’t for our sin. Adam and Eve made a deliberate and willful choice to disobey God, just as we do. And once they disobeyed God, they wanted to hide and blame their indiscretion on the “woman” or the “serpent” or on a reason other than their own disobedience.

I believe this helps to put Christmas in perspective. During Advent, our natural inclination is to rush to get to the manger story. We want to sing “Silent Night,” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” but before we get to Bethlehem, we need to acknowledge that we are in need of a Savior. We need to recognize and confess our sins and our need for repentance. Before we can sing “O Holy Night,” we need to sing “Come Thou long expectant Jesus, born to set Thy people free.” Have a great Christmas.

Shalom,

Jim