Reflections

Reflections

A few thoughts in the darkness of these Advent days as we await the coming of our Savior:

Mary and Joseph were living in an country ruled by an occupying army and forced, during the last days of her pregnancy, to make the long and difficult journey to a city so that they could be properly taxed by this military government for its own benefit. After the arduous journey they were kept from living on the streets by the generosity of an unnamed motel manager.

After the birth of Jesus, in a fit of rage,  a jealous political leader ordered the massacre of infant boys, and Joseph barely escaped with his family into Egypt where they lived as immigrant refugees, dependent, again, on the generosity of others.

We watched  as last year’s Christmas celebration was cancelled in Bethlehem and worship at that city’s Church of Nativity was reduced dramatically due to the violent conflict. As the effort “to destroy that country in order to save it” (a poignant phrase from the Vietnam War) continues, it threatens to eliminate the Christmas events again this year. And as the  violent rhetoric around contemporary immigrants and refugees increases,  I am reminded of the universal struggle for human dignity that is forever threatened by powers seeking their own control and dominance. 

Just when I am about to despair over so many contemporary challenges, I am reminded it is precisely into this broken, violent, conflicted and tortured world that God chose to enter in the form of a helpless child born to a very vulnerable young couple. And it is into that same world that he comes again and again.

My job in Advent, and always, is to prepare both my soul for his coming and, as John the Baptist preached, to make straight the pathways of justice for his arrival.

That’s more than enough to keep me busy!

Other Matters of Importance:

Nativity Celebration and Fellowship- Two Events!

     December 7:  Pre-Christmas Party at home of Tommy and Liz Reynolds (1720

    North Main) beginning at 5:30. Dinner will be served at 6:00pm. All ages are 

    welcome.

     December 24: Christmas Eve Party at home of Margaret-Love Denman (212

    Wood Street). Margaret-Love will host the congregation after our 5:30pm

    Christmas Eve worship. Details will follow, but mark your calendars now!

Spring Hill North Missionary Baptist Church GoFundMe Project-

As our neighbor church community is in the final stages of its fund raising campaign, Joe York has made a video that begins to describe the process by which this church hopes to raise the funds to complete the restoration of their sanctuary. I will be in one of the later videos, but this one features Deacon Hosea 

Bradford who has visited Nativity on several occasions. The Mission Committee of Nativity has made a contribution to this GoFundMe project, but individual contributions from Nativity are welcomed as well. 

You can check out the video on a post at Joe’s Facebook page.

Inquirers Class to Begin January 8 at 5:00 pm- Episcopal Church 101

In anticipation of our visit by Bishop Dorothy Wells to Nativity on February 23,  I will be offering a class for those interested in learning more about the Episcopal Church. The class is open to all who would like to dig a little deeper into our heritage and learn more about why we do what we do, and it will also serve as preparation for anyone interested in formally affiliating with the church through confirmation, reception or re-affirmation of baptismal vows. (We’ll discuss in our class what each of these mean.) 

See in church on Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

(601)260-1937

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com