Alright, I don't know if it's kosher to do that but I figure why not. It's like saying Happy belated Birthday to Jesus. And trust me, I definitely did my fair share to say Happy Birthday to Jesus... :)
Sunday was quite the day! The church looked wonderful for the evening services. 4:30 came and off we went! There's four pastor-types at the church so we split the six services between us. I was in charge of liturgy (multiple readings, prayers, readings, lighting of the candles, leading the nicene creed, benediction, etc.) for 5:30, 7:30, and 10:30 which meant I got to help lead both the contemporary services and final traditional service. It also meant I was flying solo, minus the sermon and communion. And it was amazing and jam packed (2100 worshippers throughout the night)! There were a few kinks along the way such as long gaps of silence while I waited for the offering plates, walked them to the front, and then had to get up to the podium to say the prayers, and that people didn't say "amen" after the benediction (The Lord bless you and keep you...) which was a bit unnerving.
But it was all worth it when we got to the end, the house lights were dimmed and I lit my small candle from the Christ candle at the center of the advent wreathe, passed on the flame to the ushers, and watched as the rest of the auditorium was slowly filled with candlelight. And this is all of course while we're singing Silent Night. Now, I've been partaking in this ritual for years at my home congregation and it has always moved me. But this year it moved me for entirely different reasons. There's something special about lighting your candle directly from the Christ candle and then being able to watch how that light spreads, as a direct result of your action. It reminded me of why I was up there in the first place, of my call to spread the light of the Gospel through my job, my friendships, my random encounters, through everything that I do. And for once, I could see in a very tangible way what happens when we spread the light of Christ.
I was also reminded of my home, thousands of miles away. I thought about how my home congregation was doing the same thing as us. I thought about how the people I met at Bethlehem when I traveled there this past year were also celebrating Christ's birth in a similar fashion. I thought about my friends who are doing their internships all over the country and were leading similar Christmas Eve services. I thought about my friends that are doing mission work in foreign countries and were preaching on the same texts as my pastor. I thought about the familiar hymns that I love, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Angels We Have Heard On High being sung in unfamiliar languages. And with all of that going through my head, I felt more connected to the body of believers than ever as I stood up on that stage by myself, looked out at the sea of worshippers, clutched my candle, and sang the harmony to Silent Night as loud as possible. It was a great Christmas!
Sunday was quite the day! The church looked wonderful for the evening services. 4:30 came and off we went! There's four pastor-types at the church so we split the six services between us. I was in charge of liturgy (multiple readings, prayers, readings, lighting of the candles, leading the nicene creed, benediction, etc.) for 5:30, 7:30, and 10:30 which meant I got to help lead both the contemporary services and final traditional service. It also meant I was flying solo, minus the sermon and communion. And it was amazing and jam packed (2100 worshippers throughout the night)! There were a few kinks along the way such as long gaps of silence while I waited for the offering plates, walked them to the front, and then had to get up to the podium to say the prayers, and that people didn't say "amen" after the benediction (The Lord bless you and keep you...) which was a bit unnerving.
But it was all worth it when we got to the end, the house lights were dimmed and I lit my small candle from the Christ candle at the center of the advent wreathe, passed on the flame to the ushers, and watched as the rest of the auditorium was slowly filled with candlelight. And this is all of course while we're singing Silent Night. Now, I've been partaking in this ritual for years at my home congregation and it has always moved me. But this year it moved me for entirely different reasons. There's something special about lighting your candle directly from the Christ candle and then being able to watch how that light spreads, as a direct result of your action. It reminded me of why I was up there in the first place, of my call to spread the light of the Gospel through my job, my friendships, my random encounters, through everything that I do. And for once, I could see in a very tangible way what happens when we spread the light of Christ.
I was also reminded of my home, thousands of miles away. I thought about how my home congregation was doing the same thing as us. I thought about how the people I met at Bethlehem when I traveled there this past year were also celebrating Christ's birth in a similar fashion. I thought about my friends who are doing their internships all over the country and were leading similar Christmas Eve services. I thought about my friends that are doing mission work in foreign countries and were preaching on the same texts as my pastor. I thought about the familiar hymns that I love, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Angels We Have Heard On High being sung in unfamiliar languages. And with all of that going through my head, I felt more connected to the body of believers than ever as I stood up on that stage by myself, looked out at the sea of worshippers, clutched my candle, and sang the harmony to Silent Night as loud as possible. It was a great Christmas!
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