Reverend Anna Blaedel
From the Associate Pastor
Rev. Anna Blaedel
Each Tuesday evening of Advent, it has been a gift to gather with a few dozen folk from Grace in the Fellowship Hall for a simple service of song, scripture, prayer, and silence. We have been singing and praying our way through the Advent stories, journeying together toward Bethlehem. Each week, the altar, set with nativity scenes and candles, has moved closer and closer toward the gathered congregation (have you noticed?) As we wait, and watch, and prepare, Emmanuel comes toward us. God draws near, and nearer still. And, in our worship, we draw nearer toward each other. We anticipate Jesus’ birth, and we recall our call to become Christ’s living body—sharing our sorrows and celebrations,
our blessings and our burdens, knowing none of us is ever truly alone. A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it. The people who have
walked in darkness will see a great light...
There is a Jewish story, a midrash, that tells of a rabbi who asks his disciples, “How do you know when the night is giving way and the morning is coming?” One disciple stood and said, “Teacher, won’t you know that night is fading when, through the dim light, you can see an animal and recognize whether it is a sheep or a dog?” The rabbi answered, “No.” “Rabbi,” asked another, “won’t you know that the dawn is coming when you can see clearly enough to distinguish whether a tree is a fig or an olive?” “No,” responded the teacher.
How do we know when the darkness is giving way to light?
The teacher continued, “You’ll know that the night has passed when you can look at any human and discern that you are looking at a sister or a brother. Until you can see with that clarity, the night will al- ways be with us.”
As we journey through these final days of Advent, and open ourselves to the Good News of God-With-Us this Christmas, may we pass from night into dawning day. May we enter the light, together, of God’s all encompassing, all enduring, all inclusive, all forgiving, all enfolding Love. May the birth of Love Incarnate give us new eyes to see clearly, the image of God in each human our sister, our brother...
Peace.
