​Starry, Starry Night
I've always been fond of the Impressionist painters, Pissarro, Monet, and especially Van Gogh. They painted not what was reality, or exactly like nature, but infused their painting with their impression of a scene or object. We see it as interpreted by the artist as though hyper-real, with a heightened sense of emotion and bold swaths of color. One of my favorite paintings is Van Gogh's “Starry Night”. The trees and hills are dark, but great brilliant stars fill the sky, swirling in celestial harmony. When I first saw that painting in person, I was awe struck. What a beautiful night sky Van Gogh had interpreted to us.
I think that's how the skies must have looked to the shepherds that night in the dark hills around Bethlehem. Suddenly, with a heightened sense of awareness, the stars seemed larger, more brilliant, alive and dancing. Then the sky was filled with angels, singing to the glory of God. What a spectacle! What a glorious sight! And then, the most wonderful news that the Messiah had been born!
I imagine those shepherds were never the same after that. They could not look at the stars at night without seeing the shimmering glory of God's good news. And when God comes into our lives, we can never see the world the same way again. We see scenes with a heightened sense of awareness, a sense that we are there for a purpose. Like the shepherds who were to go forth and spread the glorious news of Christ's birth, we have a purpose to spread God's love into all the world.
 
Dear God, open our eyes and hearts to see the amazing beauty in your world. Help us spread the good news of Jesus and your love to all peoples. Amen.
Go forth and Rejoice!
 
Jacque Walston 

​ Luke 2:14  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
 
Glorious words to hear that God is pleased with us. This is the news that the angels brought. That is not to say that our Heavenly Father is content with the way we treat one another or our evilness. He sees and hears everything. He also sees the good in us. He sent His Son to live among us to help us find our way. God loves us, has concern for us, has confidence in us and knows that we can be redeemed.
 
Let’s share the good news, let’s join the angels everywhere – Jesus was born to be with us always.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
With love from Gene and Judy Gohlke

​Miracles of Christmas
 
John 15:11  I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy.
 
The beautiful blossoms of the poinsettia have long been the traditional flower of the Christmas season. The best-known legend of the poinsettia comes from Taxco del Alarcon in southern Mexico, where the flower blooms in the winter, and the story is this:
 
Two small, very poor children were walking toward the church for Christmas Eve Services. They were sad because they did not have a gift to lay beside the baby Jesus in the nativity scene. They decided to pick some weeds along the side of the road and hold them tightly in the shape of a small bouquet. As they entered the chapel, they walked toward the nativity scene and placed the bouquet near the baby Jesus and said a silent prayer. Suddenly, as though it was a miracle, the bouquet of weeds turned into a bright burst of red flowers: poinsettias. They came to be known as “Flowers of the Holy Night” or “Flores de Noche Buena”.
 
Christmas is truly a season of miracles. The birth of the Christ Child who was born so we could have eternal life is the true miracle of Christmas! The poinsettia is just a beautiful reminder.
 
Pat Foutch

First Sunday of Advent - Hope
 
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel  Chalice Hymnal 119
 
Of the many beautiful hymns that have been written in celebration of the birth of Christ, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is my favorite. The hymn is based on a prophecy in Isaiah 7, a prophecy that looks forward to the birth of a child who will be named Immanuel, which means “God with us.” In Eden, God had been present with mankind, but because of the Fall, man was exiled from God’s presence. From that point forward, the restoration of God’s presence with man become a major theme that is developed throughout Scripture.
 
God chooses Israel as the people through whom He would reestablish His presence with man, and this begins with the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness and later the temple in Jerusalem. God dwells amid His holy people, but only the high priest is allowed into God’s direct presence and that only once a year. At the time of the exile, Ezekiel sees God’s presence depart from the temple as a result of the people’s sin, but he and the other prophets look forward to a time when God will restore His presence with His people in a way that goes beyond the temple built with human hands.
 
In the fullness of time, Jesus is born, and Matthew tells us that His birth took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet Isaiah. Jesus is Immanuel. He is God with us.
The words of the hymn express the hopes of Israel throughout history for the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise. We as Christians can now look back to the fulfillment of those promises – to the most incredible, awe-inspiring moment in history, the birth of Immanuel, the incarnation of the Son of God Himself. In Jesus, God established His presence once again with His people, and He is with us always – to the end of the age!
 
Grace and peace,
 
Rev. Russell VanHoose