From the Rector: January 2024
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
Dear St. James Parish Family,
Thanks to the pressures and expectations of our consumer culture, the season after Christmas at times feels a bit deflating. After all, for weeks there was work and dreams and anticipation toward a singular day. And then? As a young person sadly said to me the very next day: “Only 364 days until Christmas!” With that spirit, and if we aren’t too careful, we might come to believe that Christmas is only 24 hours long.
Howard Thurman (1899 – 1981) was an American author, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he thought a great deal about the deeper meanings of Christmas, and how we as Christians are commissioned by the story of Christ’s birth. Thurman wrote a poem to articulate his belief that our true work is only just beginning after Christmas.
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
____
From “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations” by Howard Thurman
Time and again, Jesus reminded his followers to model his life. To be brave and courageous. To be generous and selfless. To offer a tangible sign of hope to those who have lost their way or are broken hearted.
The celebration of Christmas allows us to ponder the fact that our beautiful, grand, and broken world has divine design. And that there is a God who not only set it all in motion, but then entered into it by making Himself poor and vulnerable in human form - a baby, no less. In the kingdom of this Prince of Peace, dignity and justice and love will prevail. As earthly citizens of this heavenly kingdom, we who follow Christ serve as nothing less than ambassadors of this Good News.
So, yes, the day known as Christmas is again behind us. However, our work has only just begun.
Faithfully,
Phillip