New Year Blessings to all of you! I am sure most of you know my mom passed away this December around Christmas. It was her favorite time of year. In fact, she asked her church to keep up the Christmas decorations for her wedding until she and my father were married on January 10, 1959. This was actually the season of Epiphany and Christmas decorations should have been put into boxes in the church attic! Concordia Lutheran Church agreed to have another week of Christmas and mom and dad did have Christmas decorations for their wedding.
Mom continued to bless our family for many years with her love of Christmas with wonderful decorations for our home and many holiday traditions, which included cookies, visits to Santa and the never forgotten Lutefisk and Lefse dinner on Christmas Eve. I am sure many of you have traditions for the holidays which make this time of year special, too. Mom had a great love of Christmas, but an ever greater love for her God and perhaps this is the greatest gift she gave to her family. Mom had a very strong faith. She knew that God would be with her during all the joys and sorrows life has to offer. She knew her faith would be strengthened by her church family, through bible study, worship on Sunday mornings and prayer. When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2002, her favorite bible verse was posted on the refrigerator door in her kitchen, 1 Corinthians 2:16, For we have the mind of Christ. And yes, God was with her through her struggles with Alzheimer’s. One question, she continued to ask her granddaughters as they became older was ”Do you have a boyfriend?” and “When are you getting married?” She would finish by stating that “It is good for you”! Mom meant that family was important to her and she wanted that family to continue on through her granddaughters and their future families.
Mom also had many friends throughout her church and the neighborhood. She was a friend you could count on and later in life she had to count on those friends. Their love for her was especially evident during the last years of her life by taking her out to lunch and driving her places, or picking her up when she forgot where she parked the car. One friend, Fran commented to me that mom was upset that she couldn’t remember certain events of her life. Fran told me she always reassured mom, “Don’t worry Marilynn, I will do the remembering for both of us.” We put mom to rest on the eve of Christmas, December 23 at our family church in Mount Prospect. One of the most powerful moments of this Christmas for me was this family of faith at Martha and Mary Lutheran Church, who nurtured and blessed our own family for many years, took mom in their arms and sang How Great thou Art as she left the church for the last time. This family of faith, as you are a family of faith continue to do the work of a God who never stops loving and caring for us through all our joys and sorrows in this life until we move on to eternal life with Him. Blessings and thankfulness to all of you and for all of you in this new year.
Your church staff just finished a staff retreat this past Tuesday. It was a time for us to discuss building up toward God and out toward the world. It was time for writing our staff covenant, and it was also a time of reflection, learning about each other and our calling to this congregation. I have worked in various congregations and on two college faculties, but I have never worked with a staff that cares for its people the way your shepherds care for each other and the people of this congregation. That is not to say my other calls and positions were not special, affirming and Gospel-led. Faith just does it better!
As a young girl growing up in my home congregation, the Rev. Joe Hulterstrum, the pastor who confirmed me, delivered a sermon that I still remember to this day. In his message he talked of The Old Pulley System. In this system, he described how a pulley moves up and down according to the weight on either side. He went on to state that when we criticize each other not out of Christian love and forgiveness, but in order to elevate our own importance and status, we are using that old pulley to make ourselves feel better at the expense of another’s feelings. It happens to all of us. I believe we can all recall a time when we have been on either side of that old pulley system.
Is this Faith family perfect? No. Will we disappoint each other on our faith journey? You bet! Will the choir or music director sing wrong notes on an upcoming Sunday morning? You can count on it! Will the organist, bell ringers, or brass quintet play a few wrong notes this month? You bet! Will the office misspell words occasionally? You bet!
Will the worship service run over the allotted 60 minutes of scheduled time next month? You bet!
Perfection is not the goal here. The proclamation of the Gospel alone is what moves us forward on this journey together. I use the word together strongly to describe this wonderful family of Faith. You are a blessed people.
The last weekend in November brings us to the season of Advent, a time of preparation as we await the birth of our Savior Jesus. One of the church’s most beloved hymns is Joy to the World. If you notice it is categorized in the ELW as an Advent hymn, not a Christmas hymn. The first verse of Joy to the World declares “Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.” As we prepare our hearts and minds for this holiday season, may we ever be thankful for each other and our gifts. May we continue to affirm each other’s special talents. In closing, ponder this hymn and your special place here at Faith Lutheran Church among God’s people.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her king!
Let every heart prepare him room and heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the savior reigns! Let all their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sin and sorrow grow, nor thorns infest the ground.
He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found.
He rules the world in truth and grace and makes the nations prove,
The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love.
