Pastor’s Blog – January 2012

Traditional holiday greetings are mostly initiated with words like “Merry” (Christmas) and “Happy” (New Year). They have been on our lips for weeks now, as we seek to bless those whom we meet with words of good cheer. Often they ring hollow as a sentiment that has no place in the current life of the one receiving the greeting. How futile to greet out of work parents, under dressed and under nourished kids, those grieving loss of people, situations, life securities, and the like. So, we recognize that, even with all good intentions, the merry and happy greetings we offer do not speak to a great many of our friends and neighbors, certainly not to those in war-torn and impoverished communities and nations.

We also recognize that in the Christian experience, Merry and Happy can be fleeting states of being. Often they are dictated by circumstances out of our control. The forces and movements of life and time intersect with our lives at junctures we might not anticipate, or at a time in which we feel ill equipped to deal.

The meaning and value of the Christian experience goes well beyond Merry or Happy. The Peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, is not dependent on our life circumstance, whether merry or not, but on the security of the presence of the indwelling Christ in our lives. The reality of the evangel of “Peace on Earth” begins in our hearts, and transcends circumstance and time. With this in mind, maybe a more meaningful and appropriate salutation/blessing, especially to those of faith, would be “Shalom for the New Year”; the connotation being, “Above all, may the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”

My friends, I wish you “Shalom for the New Year”

Pastor John

Jan. 2012