Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing close.

~Luke 21:28

Draw Near

In our extended family, my mother is responsible for Thanksgiving desserts. That means one thing: PIE. As a very young child, I remember the smells of pumpkin spice and roasting pecans as a signal that the holidays were beginning. As an older child, I was brought in on the magic. I was surprised that the ingredients of my mom’s pecan pie included not one, but two corn syrups. The year I watched her make a pecan pie for the first time, I was amazed at her patience as she delicately placed each glazed pecan in a pattern radiating out from the center. I had thought she just mixed everything up and the pecans floated to the top in perfect spirals; not so. I also learned that a clandestine taste of pumpkin pie spice is very spicy and bitter on the tongue! That was a surprise. Sugar is necessary.

As I got closer to the process, I understood just how much time and how many ingredients each pie took. The care my mother took with each step taught me just now special a family Thanksgiving meal is. Gaining familiarity with the recipes gave me a new appreciation for them.

The theme of this year’s advent is Draw Near. As God draws near to us in incarnation, we understand more about who God is and how powerful God’s love is. In the Christ child, we gain a new understanding of the depth and breadth of God’s grace.

As author Rev. Traci Smith taught us in last week’s Advent workshop, the themes of Advent teach us powerful and important Christian values: hope, peace, joy, and love. How do we better understand God’s hope, peace, joy and love as Jesus draws near to us? And how do the ingredients of hope, peace, joy, and love show up in our daily lives as we share the good news?

Through familiar traditions in worship, how might we discover something new as we draw near this season? 

I’ll see you Sunday.

Draw Near: Advent 2024 at Saint John's 

This Advent season, we rejoice in the affirmation that God's love has drawn near to us by taking on flesh and experiencing what it is to be human. We will also ask God to draw closer to us and to the spaces in the world that are broken, even as we draw nearer to God by leaning in to wonder, justice, truth, and one another. 

Advent 1: Sunday, December 1
Pastor Hilary preaches on Jeremiah 33:14-16, and we celebrate Holy Communion.
Advent 2: Sunday, December 8
A special service with worship led by the African Children's Choir on their Just As I Am Hymns tour. Scripture from Luke 1:67-79.
Advent 3: Sunday, December 15
Pastor Hilary preaches on Isaiah 12:2-6.
Advent 4: Sunday, December 22
The Lessons and Carols service. The Chancel Choir will provide music with a selection of scripture readings from Genesis, Isaiah, Luke, and John. 

Tags: advent