The Bungee Cord 1-12-26

Hello,

I walked into church yesterday, and I was caught off guard. Christmas was gone.

Gone were the trees and the decorations that adorned them. Gone were the garlands draped over the windows and doorways. Gone was the manger scene that sat near the altar. Gone were the trumpeting angels that hung near the cross. Gone were the advent wreath and its blue candles. Gone were the candelabras that lighted the main aisle. Gone were the banners that proclaimed the Christmas story. Gone. Christmas was gone.

What remained was the barren walls. What remained was the altar, the lectern and the pulpit clad in their normal clothes. What remained was the large cross that hangs on the stone wall in the front of the church. What remained was the baptismal font, unadorned. What remained was the un-candled pews and aisle. It was stark and bare.

As I considered what I walked into yesterday, it was a visible reminder of the rhythm of the life of the Christian faith. There are those moments in the life of faith that are full of splendor and magnificence, like Christmas and Easter, spiritual discoveries, and bonfires of joy. But most of the life of faith is plain, unadorned, and unremarkable. It is more like the weight training and conditioning that basketball teams fill their days with between games. It is more like the vacuuming and cleaning that is done to keep a house livable. It is more like the reading and studying that is done to pass a class. It is the prayers said before meals, the ride to the doctor given to an elderly neighbor, the hymns sung and the Bible heard week after week, the daily remembrance of your Baptism when you wash your face, and the blessings that you bring to the world through your vocation. The life of faith is more often stark and bare.

As a pastor, I strive to make sure that the jubilation of Christmas and Easter is powerfully palpable in our worship services, and it is my hope that the extravagance of grace that all who attend experience will ignite a roaring fire of God’s love for them, that that fire might be to the world a stubborn smoldering fire that won’t go out….that the red hot cinders of hope, peace, mercy and joy might be unextinguishable. Additionally, as a Pastor, I strive to make sure that every Sunday is like a new log placed on that fire so that when the splendor and magnificence is gone there still might be a place in this cold and chilling world where people might come together and warm their hands to love their neighbor, where people might fill their lungs with air that changes their coughing into singing, and where people might come and have their shivering transformed into thanks and praise.

As I look back on the great gala of Christmas, I find myself thankful for the burst of God’s grace that exploded around me. And as I look forward into the weeks ahead, I find myself thankful for the campfire around which I can always find divine warmth when life is stark and bare.

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger