Good morning church and happy Saturday. I hope that you can join us for the two special services that we have coming up. On Christmas Eve, our service will be at 5:00. We will celebrate with our first-ever Christmas choir, candlelight and communion. Then on Sunday, December 29th, Pastor Steve Dighton will be preaching at our Sunday morning service.
This has been a strange but interesting week. On Monday, I went out and gathered the additional things that we needed to provide for several families in need. Brother Jeff, Andy and I had coordinated our list of families that we felt we could bless this Christmas. It was a fun time putting together the items and planning our distribution. On Monday afternoon, as I trudged along in the snow, heading to yet another apartment, the thought occurred to me. I was doing just what my dad had done for many years. When I was younger, he was often out and about, taking things to people in need. Since he was catholic, that often meant going to the Little Sisters of the Poor or even all the way up to Atchison to Maur Hill. On other occasions, it meant visiting individual families. We will go around delivering turkeys at Thanksgiving, presents at Christmas, and throughout the year, food and other essentials. We will make the rounds, stopping by places like Stafos Farms to get produce and Roma Bakery for bread. There were times that I went along willingly and other times rather begrudgingly. As I got older, I found numerous ways to get out of it. But on Monday, it dawned on me that I was carrying on what he had modeled for me.
On Wednesday evening, I was tasked with getting dinner ready for our evening service. It is actually something that I enjoy doing (especially if I know in advance that I am going to do it 😉). Most of the afternoon, I was in the kitchen preparing various items, heating the lasagna and chicken parmigiana, chopping things, etc. It was kind of a juggling act with the various foods we planned to serve so it kept me quite busy and a bit entertained. And then the thought occurred to me, again this is what my dad often did. Whenever there were big events in the catholic and/or Italian community (often that was synonymous), he and mom would be in the kitchen preparing food. They were always behind the scenes serving in some capacity. When the meals were ready, they would then work the serving line until everyone else had all they wanted to eat.
I am not sure if it is because it is nearly Christmas or if God is just revealing some things to me. Maybe it’s both, I don’t really know. What I do know is this – the people in your life and your experiences help shape you into the person you are today. That is one reason why, as parents, we need to model good things to our kids. As followers of Christ, we need to set the example of what it looks like to be an authentic Christian. It is quite impactful when this is seen in how you serve others. Take or make opportunities this year to let your light shone before everyone, including your own family, so that they might see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.
The Apostle Paul said, “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” What a great reminder. Let’s do our best to follow Jesus as closely as we can. Then perhaps, one day, our children and others might carry on some of the worthwhile practices we had in our life.
Merry Christmas!
Pastor Larry
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