Friends,

Saturday morning will be busy at St. Luke’s.

We will be “greening” the Church, which officially starts at 8:00, but for all intents and purposes it will start at 7:15. Ladders will go up to hang the massive wreaths, garland will go everywhere, the Christmas tree will go up in the narthex, and by Sunday morning it will be clear that we are ready for Christmas. My special contribution is that I always put some ornaments on the tripods to make them look like Christmas trees. The only downside of our amazing new cameras is that I will have to forgo this beloved bit of decorating.

While the Church is being greened, a small army of Day School teachers and parents will be decking out the narthex, library and parish hall for “Breakfast with Santa”. This is a chance for the Day School students and families to come and get some holiday cheer with good ol’ St. Nicholas himself. This is arguably one of the most labor-intensive events the Day School puts on, but it pays massive dividends in lasting memories and cherished pictures of skeptical toddlers next to the jolly old elf. My family’s scheduled time with Santa is at 8:30 am.

Immediately after the greening of the Church, but before Breakfast with Santa ends, the last rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant will happen. This pageant is where I see our organist, Kate Weber-Petrova, shine in her ministry. I am not qualified enough to really appreciate her talents as a musician. I am told she is quite remarkable, but it is lost on me. Kate’s real ministry to the Church isn’t just her beautiful music, but her leadership in instilling a love of music, community and the story of our faith in the next generation. A group of children meet after Church every Sunday to participate in our children’s choir, and they will be our lead story tellers in the pageant this Sunday at 10:00 am. However, all children are welcome to come help tell the story if they come do a bit of practice this Saturday morning at the rehearsal. My two children fall into this category. They will jump off of Santa’s lap, race to the Church and don an appropriate animal or shepherd costume at 9:00 to get ready for the big performance on Sunday.

All of this is happening in the midst of a sea of concerns, prayers, mourning friends, hopes, life changes and tardy Christmas shopping. I hope to get home by lunch, put Theo down for a nap and finish putting up our Christmas lights. Churches like to market Advent as a time of quiet and contemplative preparation for the incarnation of God, which is a really big deal, but who are they kidding? Regardless of how you prepare for Christmas, I doubt that you are finding more time to quietly pray, be still and look for signs of the coming of Christ.

Advent has never been straightforward, peaceful or ever prepared anyone for the coming of Christ. Mary and Joseph didn’t even catch a break. Mary’s pregnancy came at a very inconvenient time considering she wasn’t yet married to Jospeh, and to add insult to injury they had to hustle over to Bethlehem for some weird bureaucratic red tape. In the midst of something as mundane as a census, perhaps a strained relationship, and a lack of easy public transit Christ came into the world.

This is a stressful time. It is a good time, but it is stressful nonetheless. Don’t let an expectation of peace stress you out any further if you only see an impossibly large swell of tasks heading your way. Regardless of what you get done or don’t, Christmas is coming anyways. Regardless of you get done or don’t, Christ is coming anyways. Shed the things that should be shed, but I won’t regret one minute of the stress and busyness of jumping from one memory making event to the other, and maybe in the midst of all of the mundane stuff I will be surprised by divine signs of hope. I could totally miss it too, but it won’t change God’s timeline.

Blessings,

Nick