WEBVTT 00:00:01.710 --> 00:00:05.250 Well, good morning, everyone. It is the fourth 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:08.789 week of Advent. This is the week we focus on 00:00:08.789 --> 00:00:12.349 love, and because we don't have a Christmas Eve 00:00:12.349 --> 00:00:16.550 service, we also focus on the light of Christ 00:00:16.550 --> 00:00:24.109 that came with his birth. Christmas is, as we 00:00:24.109 --> 00:00:27.170 just said, there's a lot happening at Christmas. 00:00:27.230 --> 00:00:30.059 It's not just the holiday, is it? It's the stuff 00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:33.140 wrapped up in the holiday. And we live in America, 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.380 so it's wild in America. There's really no other 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:41.039 country in the world that does what America does 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.640 at Christmas time with the stuff, right? It's 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:49.039 busy. It's big. It's heavily commercialized. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:54.700 It starts in August. But life gets really busy 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:58.100 all of a sudden we know what's coming and so 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:01.179 there's really no way to be like oh that's just 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:03.100 in the future because we're just confronted with 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:07.379 it really really early and so You know we know 00:01:07.379 --> 00:01:09.640 what's coming down the barrel and then when we 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:11.599 get here like all of a sudden like late November 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:15.430 December like it all breaks open. Everything 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:18.609 happens. So how many have attended a Christmas 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:21.310 or a seasonal holiday program in the last two 00:01:21.310 --> 00:01:25.930 weeks? There it is. There are parties that some 00:01:25.930 --> 00:01:28.030 of you dread and some of you are really excited 00:01:28.030 --> 00:01:30.170 about. There are gift exchanges. You are buying 00:01:30.170 --> 00:01:33.790 gifts for people at work. You barely know. Who's 00:01:33.790 --> 00:01:36.150 participated in a white elephant gift exchange 00:01:36.150 --> 00:01:38.230 that you ended up pulling something out of your 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:42.209 closet for? Nobody is raising their hand, but 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:47.760 I know you have done it. Who has ever had a secret 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:50.980 Santa in an environment that you're like, who 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:58.859 is Tyler? And then Tyler's like, it's me. Merry 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:04.819 Christmas. There are family photos. Listen, the 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:07.459 family photos that you do in October are amazing 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:10.219 because you have been preparing for two months, 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:11.819 and I don't know how you do it, but you've done 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:15.439 it, and it's incredible. But that's a part of 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:18.819 the mental load of what you're doing to get things 00:02:18.819 --> 00:02:22.400 ready for Christmas. We have to get the pets 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:25.479 Christmas sweaters and hats, and then all the 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:30.240 family descends upon the house in matching pajamas, 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:33.979 100%. And then you have to get the matching pajamas. 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.000 And they have to be different than the year before. 00:02:39.139 --> 00:02:44.699 And then, like, in this huge, huge, like, Fast 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:48.039 and Furious lead -up, all of a sudden, it's just 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.560 done. Like, it goes by so fast. And we often 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:53.860 don't feel like we got to experience Christmas, 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:57.740 or at least what we think Christmas is supposed 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:01.979 to be. We all just become these whirling dervishes. 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:05.139 And sometimes you wonder if what you just experienced 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:07.659 was even real because you're done and you're 00:03:07.659 --> 00:03:13.039 like, what was that? It was all activity. And 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:15.000 it can almost feel like the busy, the activity, 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:20.219 the crazy was actually the thing. And even during 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.469 Advent, we're meant. to pause. We're meant to 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:27.110 remember hope and to pause to remember peace 00:03:27.110 --> 00:03:29.849 and to pause to remember joy and pause to remember 00:03:29.849 --> 00:03:32.889 love and look towards the light that came to 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:35.370 live within us at Christmas. We're meant to do 00:03:35.370 --> 00:03:39.210 those things, but how? And the following is not 00:03:39.210 --> 00:03:41.349 a new idea and each year it feels like more of 00:03:41.349 --> 00:03:44.409 a struggle, but it can be an honest to goodness 00:03:44.409 --> 00:03:49.509 fight to make room. to take time like you're 00:03:49.509 --> 00:03:53.830 wrestling for it for the remembering of the Christ 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:58.870 child in all of it and the contrast always is 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:01.990 that there is any time in our lives in our year 00:04:01.990 --> 00:04:04.449 that we need to make room for these gifts it 00:04:04.449 --> 00:04:08.990 is this season and I would arguably say love 00:04:08.990 --> 00:04:11.979 is the one that we need the most Not to rank 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:15.060 the gifts of God, but I guess I just did. But 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.139 even in Corinthians, it says, and the greatest 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:20.720 of these is love. But the presence, but what 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:24.079 the presence and the indwelling of love means 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:26.519 for us in our world is not to be understated. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.279 And 1 Peter 4a implores us to consider that above 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:35.279 all, love each other deeply because love covers 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:39.439 over a multitude of sins. And yet in the season 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:41.839 of Advent, we barely have time to think of it 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:44.680 some years. And some of us are confronted with 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.199 how little love we have for the people around 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:50.959 us. How difficult it can be because we're in 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.699 close proximity with some of the people that 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:56.920 have been the most difficult in our lives. So 00:04:56.920 --> 00:04:59.139 each of the prior weeks of Advent, we are given 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:02.519 a week to consider hope before we turn over to 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.680 peace and then joy. But some years, if the calendar 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.240 falls just right, We might have three days to 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:12.579 consider the gift and presence of love because 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:14.860 of how the Sunday falls in relationship to the 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:18.000 day of Christmas. And those days are often filled 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.139 with the realities of last -minute shopping and 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:24.439 preparation. It's very hard to take a beat and 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.800 to focus on this week, this week's reflection. 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:31.079 And it's sobering to consider that even our best 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:35.939 attempts are systematically undermined. by the 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:40.220 environment that we live in. In our imaginations, 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:42.480 we can imagine that the time leading up to Jesus' 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:48.480 birth was also a busy time. There's these reflections 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.959 in the scriptures of what all the activity that 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.220 was happening. So heaven's postal system was 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:56.199 in full force. Messages were being sent all over 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.579 the place for a few months. Zechariah and Elizabeth 00:05:58.579 --> 00:06:01.680 each got a message. Mary's cousins. They were 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:03.620 each visited. Mary herself gets a visit about 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:05.839 becoming the mother of Jesus, and she rejoices. 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.120 She visits her previously mentioned cousin, and 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.980 they're both going to have babies, and both announcements 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.759 came by the way of angelic beings, and so that 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.459 was uniquely relatable. Oh, an angel visited 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:20.139 you too about your baby? That's cool. Joseph 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:22.480 got a visit from an angel in a dream as well. 00:06:23.340 --> 00:06:25.480 The visitors from the east said they got a message 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:27.360 of sorts by way of the stars and the shepherds 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:29.339 saw the angels. So there were so many messages, 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:32.740 such a flurry of things. And in addition to all 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:35.040 the heavenly correspondence, Joseph got a message 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:37.199 from the government bidding them to come to Bethlehem 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.699 for the census, as if that wasn't enough. And 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:42.300 I'm sure Mary was stoked about that. We got to 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:45.860 go on a trip? That's fun. So much is happening. 00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:48.949 And the stuff. Around this baby Messiah, the 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:52.689 heralding, the announcing is so much. The expectations, 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:55.610 it all seems so grand, it's so big, it's so a 00:06:55.610 --> 00:07:00.250 lot, it's so heightened. So let's read in Luke 00:07:00.250 --> 00:07:03.970 2, 4 through 20. We're going to read the account. 00:07:04.689 --> 00:07:07.149 And I would invite you to stand if you can and 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:09.850 as you're able to give attention to God's word. 00:07:10.870 --> 00:07:14.709 As we turn our hearts and attention to this story. 00:07:15.550 --> 00:07:20.889 And to this remembrance, according to Luke. So 00:07:20.889 --> 00:07:23.050 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth 00:07:23.050 --> 00:07:25.949 in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:27.829 David, because he belonged to the house and line 00:07:27.829 --> 00:07:30.250 of David. He went there to register with Mary, 00:07:30.329 --> 00:07:32.629 who was pledged to be married to him, and was 00:07:32.629 --> 00:07:34.449 expecting a child. And while they were there, 00:07:34.649 --> 00:07:36.990 the time came for the baby to be born, and she 00:07:36.990 --> 00:07:40.230 gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped 00:07:40.230 --> 00:07:42.550 him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because 00:07:42.550 --> 00:07:45.160 there was no guest room available for them. And 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:46.720 there were shepherds living out in the fields 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.000 nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:51.519 An angel of the Lord appeared to them. The glory 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.000 of the Lord shone around them, and they were 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:55.040 terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.779 be afraid. I bring to you good news that will 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:01.379 cause great joy for all the people. Today in 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:03.740 the town of David, a Savior has been born to 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:07.139 you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:09.220 a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in 00:08:09.220 --> 00:08:12.500 cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly a 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:14.220 great company of the heavenly hosts appeared 00:08:14.220 --> 00:08:16.040 to the angel, praising God and saying, Glory 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.920 to God in the highest, and on earth peace to 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:22.459 those on whom his favor rests. And when the angels 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:24.379 had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:26.519 said to one another, Let's go, let's go to Bethlehem 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:28.540 and see this thing that has happened, which the 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:31.620 Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and 00:08:31.620 --> 00:08:33.679 found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:36.320 in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:38.940 the word concerning what has been told them about 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:41.840 this child, and all who heard it were amazed 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.159 at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.100 treasured up all these things and pondered them 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:50.179 in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:52.720 and praising God for all the things that they 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.059 had heard and seen, which were just as they had 00:08:55.059 --> 00:08:58.940 been told. Let's pray. God, add your blessing 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.039 to this word, to this story. May the truths of 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.419 it sit deeply in our heart. May we also ponder 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:09.820 these things deeply and hear what you need to 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:13.000 say to us and seal them upon our hearts today. 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:18.639 We pray this in your name. Amen. So your question 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.200 this morning was reflecting back to some of the 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:23.320 traditions you had as a kid, if you are a kid, 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.080 and what were some of the traditions that you 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:28.539 experienced that you love. I'm an only child, 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.820 so I really looked forward to Christmas evening 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:35.379 at my house. People came over. We were a household 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:38.539 of three. And though I am deeply introverted, 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:41.299 my aunt and uncle and cousins would come, and 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:44.799 I always looked forward to it. My uncle, this 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.440 is one of our traditions, my uncle would do a 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:52.620 remarkable, exquisite, full -on lyrical dance 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:55.700 to 12 Days of Christmas. And it was astounding. 00:09:56.889 --> 00:09:59.090 Yes. Thank you. That's the appropriate reaction. 00:10:00.509 --> 00:10:04.730 And I have a very clear memory of him, and he 00:10:04.730 --> 00:10:06.850 was a very tall guy, standing on his very tippy 00:10:06.850 --> 00:10:12.730 toes for the five golden rings. I loved it. It 00:10:12.730 --> 00:10:16.549 was something to behold. And then for those few 00:10:16.549 --> 00:10:18.830 precious days after Christmas when you were still 00:10:18.830 --> 00:10:21.649 home from school, you'd relish in the freedom 00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:25.519 of those days, the slowness of those days. I 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.480 would get games for Christmas. That seems like 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:31.000 a good thing to get a young person. But let me 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.240 remind you, I'm an only child. Who am I playing 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:41.820 these games with? Thank you. Thank you. So, I 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:45.480 mean, mom was home from work, from school. Grandma 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:49.179 was in town. So there were a few days that we 00:10:49.179 --> 00:10:52.820 would play games. But then when those days were 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.440 up, You know, they inevitably come to an end. 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:57.879 I was back to setting up Monopoly for a game 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:04.240 with myself. It's the part when you know Christmas 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:08.419 is finished. The guests have gone. The dishes 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:11.360 have been washed. The gifts, having been tested 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:13.299 and tried on and played with, have been absorbed 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:15.460 into the household. The returns have been made. 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:19.139 The house has been cleaned up. Life returns to 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:22.039 normal. And the shine and the wonder and the 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:25.700 magic having seemingly come and gone so quickly. 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:29.960 But Luke 2 .20 says, and the shepherds returned 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:34.259 to their fields. It happened to them too. The 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:36.539 visitors left. The angelic rejoicing had come 00:11:36.539 --> 00:11:39.279 to its end. Mary and Joseph moved to Egypt and 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:43.840 life, actual real life, was really about to begin 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:47.919 for this small little family of three. So yes, 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.399 this extraordinary miracle had come to fruition 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:52.980 in the deep breath after the bustle of the special 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:57.399 time, but what now? The lead up to the main event 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:01.320 is often so grand, so heralded, but then what? 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:06.480 We see this also in our lives and like weddings, 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:09.220 right? Wedding is traditionally a huge event. 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:11.860 There are months of planning. There are wedding 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:14.360 showers. Gifts are bought and given. There's 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:16.740 a lot of money spent. People travel for this. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.580 And everything is leading up to a very big day 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.940 for a couple who have said that they are deeply 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:25.460 in love and want to spend the rest of their lives 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.379 living out this beautiful love towards one another. 00:12:28.059 --> 00:12:30.940 And so they have a wonderful celebration. And 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:35.330 then, and then, The people leave, and the gifts 00:12:35.330 --> 00:12:37.289 have been opened, and the bills start coming 00:12:37.289 --> 00:12:41.610 in, and they are left with each other. And that 00:12:41.610 --> 00:12:44.870 can actually be really scary, because now it's 00:12:44.870 --> 00:12:49.610 just so real. And so the season of Advent will 00:12:49.610 --> 00:12:51.929 come to a close this week. We will move next 00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:55.450 into the season of Christmas tide. It's the actual 00:12:55.450 --> 00:12:59.389 12 days of Christmas. It's from Christmas Eve 00:12:59.389 --> 00:13:02.750 through to Epiphany, which is January 6th. And 00:13:02.750 --> 00:13:05.269 what comes after that? In the church calendar, 00:13:05.570 --> 00:13:09.750 ordinary time follows. There are two spots of 00:13:09.750 --> 00:13:12.190 ordinary time in the church calendar. You see 00:13:12.190 --> 00:13:14.570 it here when we have the green cloths on the 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.389 table. Approximately the month following the 00:13:18.389 --> 00:13:21.690 Christmas season and the weeks after Easter, 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:24.289 the stretch of Easter and Lent and Pentecost 00:13:24.289 --> 00:13:27.720 near the end of May. Through to Christ the King 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:29.659 Sunday at the end of November. So we have two 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:32.240 periods of ordinary time. When they take up a 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:36.679 significant amount of time. Ordinary time falls 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:40.539 after the big events. After the bigness of Christmas. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:45.220 And after the bigness of Easter. Lent and Pentecost. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:49.700 The shepherds return to their fields. And they 00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:53.080 had to carry what they experienced into the places 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:56.639 that they lived and they did their work. and 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:00.980 did the ordinary stuff of life after this big 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:06.080 experience. The challenge always is how to take 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:10.700 the gifts and wonder of one season, when the 00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:13.120 joy and the feelings of the event are close and 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.879 big and within easy reach, and how to carry them 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:20.500 into the realness of the ordinary. At Christmas, 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:23.600 we remember that the love of God has been dynamically 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:27.460 revealed. to the world through Jesus. The light 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:31.340 of Jesus has come to us. And there was rejoicing 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:34.179 and spectacle and people came from near and far, 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:39.700 but now life is just life. The dishes ask for 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.500 our attention and the car needs gas and the laundry 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.460 needs to be done. The bills have to be paid. 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:46.840 The doctor has to get visited. The kids need 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:48.259 to be dropped off at school and the homework 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:50.379 needs to be done. The email needs to be answered. 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.600 The snow needs to be shoveled and the lawn needs 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.779 to be mowed. The shepherds returned to their 00:14:56.779 --> 00:15:01.980 fields. However, there's a bit more to pull from 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:05.340 here because just before the shepherds returned 00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:08.500 to their fields, we have a small reflection on 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:11.820 Mary. And she treasured up all these things and 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:15.419 pondered them in her heart. The things we talk 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:17.659 about during the Advent season are not things 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:19.700 that just show up and make us feel good. They 00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:23.200 are birthed in us. And they are meant to become 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.139 a part of us in these precious special times. 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:30.779 And then we must hold them in our hearts as we 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:34.279 return to the fields and we need to tend to them 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:38.840 and care for them. In the ordinary, in real life, 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:41.379 we take the things that were once again birthed 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:44.159 in us during the season and we hold them. We 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.700 carry hope and tend to its care. We carry peace 00:15:47.700 --> 00:15:51.159 and we tend to its care. We carry joy and tend 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:54.620 to its care. We carry love and tend to its care. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:59.340 We carry the light and we tend to its care. In 00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:01.340 the season of Advent, we re -enter the story 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:03.840 of when Jesus came to us, but much like those 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.860 that were there, we can't stay in the refuge 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:09.820 of the night when Christ was born. We have to 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:11.639 hold these things in our hearts and go back to 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:14.570 the fields. And so during the season of Advent, 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:17.850 we don't just wait for the arrival of hope and 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:21.269 peace and light, Jesus himself. We don't just 00:16:21.269 --> 00:16:23.570 wait for the arrival like guests that have come 00:16:23.570 --> 00:16:26.450 for the holidays. We welcome these things into 00:16:26.450 --> 00:16:31.129 our lives to stay, to take up residency in us, 00:16:31.250 --> 00:16:35.289 to go along the way with us. And even though 00:16:35.289 --> 00:16:38.950 the big events will pass, we cannot sustain the 00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:44.480 energy that exists in those times. And so the 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.919 big events will pass. We return to life with 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:49.740 the gifts that came with the season. We go back 00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:51.919 to the fields holding these things in our heart. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.539 We go back to the fields remembering the goodness 00:16:54.539 --> 00:16:57.120 and telling the stories to all who will listen, 00:16:57.259 --> 00:17:00.039 like our dear shepherds. And we tend to the gifts, 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:03.539 caring for them, keeping the light lit, not letting 00:17:03.539 --> 00:17:09.660 it go out. And so as you go forth from this season, 00:17:11.630 --> 00:17:14.269 As you return to the fields, as you move back 00:17:14.269 --> 00:17:17.630 into the ordinary, may you carry with you the 00:17:17.630 --> 00:17:21.390 gifts of the season. May you carry with you the 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:27.529 light and tend to its care. Is anybody familiar 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:31.630 with the tradition of the Celtic Christian tradition? 00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:36.849 There's a really beautiful history of the Celts. 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:42.059 very much caring for the things of the ordinary. 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:45.740 This is what stands out in their traditions. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.880 And so if you look through Celtic prayers, they 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.700 are very much about like milking the cow. I'm 00:17:54.700 --> 00:17:57.279 not kidding going to the bathroom. There are 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:01.819 very, very simple prayers about the comings and 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:05.660 goings of the ordinary. And so the ordinary is 00:18:05.660 --> 00:18:09.200 actually quite special. It is where we tend and 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.480 care for things. It is the regular maintenance, 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:14.660 right? Which feels so mundane, but we know how 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:18.099 it is when maintenance goes undone. When things 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:22.359 go uncared for. When you don't clean out the 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:25.920 gutters. When you don't get the oil changed. 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.160 When you don't mow the lawn. The city comes after 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:38.559 you. I've heard that happens before. And so I 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:44.160 was a new homeowner at the time. I didn't understand 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:50.660 how things worked. But we ask for God to care 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:54.480 for us as he cares for us as we tend for the 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:57.240 precious things that we've been given that have 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.079 come with us into the fields. So I am going to 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:04.599 pray this prayer, this Celtic prayer, or this 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:07.589 prayer from the Celtic tradition. As we finish 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:12.789 this morning. God be with me in this, your day. 00:19:13.289 --> 00:19:17.650 Every day and every way. With me and for me in 00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:20.390 this, your day. And the love and affection of 00:19:20.390 --> 00:19:22.769 heaven be towards me and in me towards others. 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:26.329 All that I am, Lord, I place into your hands. 00:19:26.910 --> 00:19:29.690 All that I do, Lord, I place into your hands. 00:19:30.470 --> 00:19:33.230 Everything I work for, I place into your hands. 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:36.450 Everything I hope for, I place into your hands. 00:19:36.970 --> 00:19:39.690 The troubles that weary me, I place into your 00:19:39.690 --> 00:19:42.789 hands. The thoughts that disturb me, I place 00:19:42.789 --> 00:19:46.430 into your hands. Each day that I pray for, I 00:19:46.430 --> 00:19:49.609 place into your hands. Each person that I care 00:19:49.609 --> 00:19:53.470 for, I place into your hands. Show me what a 00:19:53.470 --> 00:19:56.029 blessing it is that I have life and work to do. 00:19:56.470 --> 00:19:59.829 And sometimes, and most of all, when the day 00:19:59.829 --> 00:20:03.180 is overcast, And my courage faints. Let me hear 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:07.140 your voice saying, you are my beloved in whom 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:09.319 I am well pleased. Amen.