December 13, 2019 by Jesse Lebus
St. Luke’s, friends and family:
Let’s face it, the season leading up to Christmas is a busy and sometimes uncomfortable time. We are concerned with preparing stockings and gifts for loved ones; a thoughtful and generous practice. A practice, nonetheless, that can lead to the stress of fulfilling expectations and emptying bank accounts. Our calendars may be filled with holiday parties and family visits, but maybe not. Sometimes the holidays can be lonely and a sharp reminder that loved ones are absent.
But the church has an antidote. We have dedicated this time, in the midst of all the hubbub, to watch and wait for the arrival of Christ, the light of the world, the one who absorbs the darkness. Wherever you are (mentally, physically, spiritually) in this Holy Season pray and meditate on the reality that God - through his Son Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit - is, was and forever shall be arriving. In the center of our Eucharistic prayer we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
My Advent is filled with the thrill of toddlers, family comings and goings, and plenty of holiday scheduling. Just last Sunday, I was invited to offer a prayer of light and hope at Sea Cliff’s annual Tree and Menorah lighting. It was an ecumenical service: it was open to all faiths and those who keep religion at arms length. I must admit, I was more anxious about preparing for this prayer than I am preparing for Sunday sermons! Anyways, I offer it to you all, another antidote to a busy and sometimes uncomfortable time.
Loving God, source of all being, in this season of shortened days and cooler weather help us to find light and warmth in the company of family, neighbor, friend and stranger.
In this season of heightened consumerism and busy calendars
help us to slow down, breathe deeply and discover again those things that are both truly valuable and divinely priceless.
In this season of political and social tension help us to cast off the shadows of division and indifference by seeking after the truth, striving for justice and loving one another whether or not we like one another.
Loving God, in a world that waits with eager longing for unity, peace and abiding love continue to lift up the Village of Sea Cliff as a beacon of kindness, equality and civic duty, granting all who live and frequent here a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves and a lightness of spirit befitting this holy season.
Amen.