I saw a shooting star. The first I have ever actually seen. Oh, I have
been with other people who saw a shooting star. But by the time I looked
the direction they pointed, it was gone. I couldn¡¦t miss seeing this
shooting star. We were driving home from a Thanksgiving Day gathering with
family, when the shooting star appeared straight ahead of us. There it
was, right in my view of the road ahead. For the first time in my life, I
happened to be looking the right direction.
Advent is a season of looking for something. Or someone. We look for the
coming of Jesus. We remember and retell the story of his coming foretold
by the prophets. We celebrate and retell the story of his birth as the
baby in the stable. We are reminded that he will come again.
Am I looking the right direction to see Jesus? In all the activity the
season brings, it is easy to become distracted or too busy¡Kto be looking
the wrong way. But I have been seeing Jesus many places in recent days. To
be sure, Jesus is in our worship. In the lessons, sermons, sacraments, and
music. In the fellowship of the worshippers. But I have been noticing
Jesus in other places.
I see Jesus in each recipient of a gift from the good deed tree, and in
the giver who is blessed in the giving. I see Jesus in the many people fed
by the Salem food pantry, and in the generosity of all who help to keep
its shelves stocked. I see Jesus every time I visit my mother at the
DeKalb County Home. Jesus is every resident I pass in the hallway. Jesus
is every caregiver who genuinely loves the one he or she is helping. Jesus
is the two elementary school boys who gave Mom a poinsettia and read a
Christmas poem to her, and all their classmates who shared the same gift
of themselves with other residents.
Most of the world wasn¡¦t looking the right direction when Jesus was born.
Some probably weren¡¦t looking at all. Those who were awaiting his coming
were looking for someone much more noticeable than an infant born in an
out-of-the-way stable. But God sent Jesus in a small package. Jesus
continues to come in the little ways his brothers and sisters love each
other. God bless us this Advent season and always, that we may have eyes
and hearts open to his coming. That we may be looking the right direction.
Ron Vanatta
ľ Midweek Advent worship continues each Wednesday of December at 7:00 pm
in the sanctuary. We sing and pray Holden Evening Prayer.
ƒæ This weekend, Dec. 11th at 5:00 and 12th at 10:30, Salem¡¦s Christmas
Cantata will be shared. ¡§A Thrill of Hope¡¨ brings the hope and joy of
Christmas to life with orchestra, bells, piano, and choir.
ƒæ Salem¡¦s Sunday school Children tell the story of Jesus¡¦ birth Dec.
19th at 10:30 worship: ¡§Love Came Down at Christmas¡¨.
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