Pastor's Pen
A monthly message from the hand of Pastor Stockman
First of all, it is hard to just skip right to Christmas. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year, and I want each of you to know that I am truly thankful to be at Zion in Morris, MN. You mean a lot to me, and I am so appreciative of the blessing that you have been to me. I am also thankful for the opportunity to share with you the love that God has for each of you. As we go into this Advent and Christmas season, I pray that our focus will remain on God's love for us through the birth of His Son.
Even though the talk in December is mostly about Christmas, the season of Advent consumes most of the month. What is Advent? Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the second coming of Christ. The season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of the Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure waiting for the second coming of Christ.
All of the special things happening at this time of the year, such as "An Evening of Christmas Music" on December 7th, our Advent meals and services, and the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services, would not exist if there had been no Christmas. In our lives this Advent and Christmas season, hopefully we will encounter the power of Christmas as we relive the light and wonder of it. So often Christmas comes and goes with little thought of it afterward. Is it because our minds have been so ingrained to focus on the secular side that we don't even want to think about it for the next ten or eleven months? I hope that this Advent season will help us see that our journey with Christ begins at Christmas but does not end there. My wish is that you carry the joys of Christmas with you throughout the entire year. God bless each of you as you continue your Advent and Christmas preparations. When everything gets so busy around us, may God help you get your mind off the secular things of Christmas so you can focus on the birth of our Savior and what that means for each of us. Â
Rev. Reed Stockman