Pastor Annemarie gives us words of hope as we embark upon the new year.
As we celebrate these Days of Christmas (the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on December 25 so, Happy “Five Gold Rings” Day!) and look forward to a New Year, we’ll hear in worship from opening words to the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. . . . In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us . . .”
The Light of Christ now shines in our world because Christ now lives in us. We have hope to share. We can make a difference in our community. We have a vision to shine the Light of Christ in 2022 in a tangible way: to offer learning for our ourselves and our wider community through a series of “Hope Talks.” These will be events for education and engagement in hunger, and other current stresses in our community. They might include topics such as aging parents, isolation, or other crucial needs that become apparent to us along the way. Esperanza is made up of people with the gifts and talents to coordinate such events, our campus is in an easy-to-access location, and we are investing in our online capabilities for broader engagement. God has blessed us with such rich gifts and the time is now to place them into God’s hands to use as God will, bringing hope to our community. As a congregation, we have hope in abundance to share.
And how about as individuals? Christ has been born to you. The Light of Christ shines for you and in you. Has that changed your life? Even transformed your life? How has it made a difference for the better? In answering those questions for yourself, you just may find the story you can tell. The witness you can be for Christ to the people you know.
My hope for us in this New Year is that our wider community will hear and see in us the testimony of God’s Light, God’s Word, living in and among us, echoing the opening words to the Book of First John:
“We declare to you what was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have looked at
and touched with our hands,
concerning the Word of Life—
this life was revealed,
and we have seen it and testify to it,
and declare to you the eternal life . . .”
May it be so.
God’s peace and grace to you,
–Pastor Annemarie