
A Pastoral Message from Christ Church
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Luke 3:4b
Dear family and friends of Christ Church,
This past weekend, with leftover Thanksgiving turkey tucked away in the refrigerator, our family took a road trip to the attic. We haven’t spent much time there since our July move. Boxes we didn’t really have a place for in our new home (or just didn’t want to deal with) were still there, collecting dust. But then, stored safely in the corner, we found the bins and boxes marked “Christmas”. And so, it began.
The kids asked Alexa to play Christmas music. The placement of stockings was discussed and decided. Jenny checked YouTube for some garland hanging tips. A few hours later, the four of us took stock of our handiwork, and Jonathan commented, “I think we’re ready”.
Oh, that preparing our hearts and spirits for the coming of Christ were so easy!
Holy acts of preparation are, it seems to me, the focus of these December weeks. How do we prepare ourselves to most fully receive the precious gift of the babe in Bethlehem? For some of us, it may involve clearing out some of the spiritual cobwebs that can collect and cloud our relationship with God, one another, and our own best self. Preparation often involves cleaning house and shining lights into those basement and attic corners we can so often overlook and avoid. All this so that, as John the Baptist invites, God’s path to us would be straight and focused.
I invite you to join with the faithful of this parish, and Christian sisters and brothers around the globe, in this Advent season. Take on the ministry of preparation as an active practice. Our individual disciplines will coalesce in the unlikely setting of a stable, as once again the sacred mystery of the Incarnation is revealed to us.
I pray that each of us is ready, able and willing to hear this central story of our faith, and respond in wonder, love and praise.
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See you in church! Blessings and peace,
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Chris
The Reverend Chris Streeter, Priest-in-Charge
Christ Episcopal Church, Newton NJ

The Reverend Chris Streeter, Priest-in-Charge