The Season of Advent sounds the note of expectancy and reminds us that dreams do come true. During this season the church remembers how the greatest dream in the history of humankind became reality.

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel!” says the hymn writer. Those words express the hopes of the prophets and faithful people who dreamed of the day when God would send the promised Messiah.

The Messiah came. The Savior was born. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) We look back to the birth of Jesus during Advent and we are reminded that the eternal God stepped onto the stage of human history. We are also reminded that Jesus is present with us in the here and now. "I am with you always", He promised. (Matthew 28:20) The message of Advent also reminds us to look to the future when the Kingdom of God will be fully and completely revealed.

Christ has come and Christ will someday come again. Because Jesus came to make a dream of old come true, we can join hands with Him in keeping the vision alive that God is working out God's purposes in the world. We are not alone in life. The Savior who came to visit and redeem His people offers new life and a new way to everyone who seeks Him. Bring your vision and your dreams to the Lord this Advent, and wait with expectancy for the Christ to be born anew in your life and in the life of the church.

This week marks the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, also called the “Festival of Lights.”  Dates for the festival shift according to the Jewish calendar, anywhere from late November to late December of our calendar. 

The story is this:  In the second century before the common era (Christians might say “before Christ”), the Second Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem was sacked by invading and occupying armies.  Jewish rituals, including sacrifice and Temple worship, were outlawed.  In 167 BCE, in fact, the Emperor Antiochus ordered that an altar to Zeus be erected in the ruins of the Temple.  So cruel and cynical was he.  Antiochus banned circumcisions and ordered that pigs be sacrificed on that altar, even further desecrating the space.  His actions provoked a revolt.  The story is recounted in two books, called 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.  The books are part of the Hebrew, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox bibles.  Protestants hold them with less authority, but, use them for teaching. 

The story continues that after a couple of years, the Jewish revolt was successful.  It was led by Yahuda HaMakabi (Judah the Hammer).  Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed and restored.  An eight-day festival was called.  But there was only one sealed bottle of pure and blessed olive oil left to be found, which was only enough to burn a candle of the Temple menorah for one day of the required eight days.  Miraculously, the oil lasted all eight days—long enough for new oil to be pressed and blessed and prepared for continuing worship. 

Not unlike Christian celebrations, observance of the Festival of Lights has gone in and out of fashion and has changed over the centuries and in different places.  When do you light the candles, and where?  How many do you light and in what order?  What else do you do?  And how important is this holiday for Jewish life?  These questions have been answered in different ways through the centuries.  But an American way of celebration has settled in, in many ways shaped in response to the ubiquity of Christmas in our culture.  Hanukkah has taken on a larger cultural significance in the modern world as a Jewish parallel to Christian Advent and Christmas.  The theme of light coming in the winter darkness also parallels Christian celebrations of light during this time of year.  And the holiday has taken on a commercial feel here, too, with customary foods on sale, gifts given, traditional games, and songs sung year after year.  For a fun example, Temple Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh sponsors its annual “Latkepalooza,” a festival welcoming folks from all around to party, play, and celebrate (latke is a Hanukkah treat, by the way!).

So what is it about Hanukkah that we share as Christians? 

Well, first, we share the story and celebrate the memory. 

We can also love the themes:  God will provide!  A little can go further than we ever expect, if applied with faith and hope!  Sometimes the miraculous comes for just long enough for us to get a leg up and get to work (eight days being just long enough to press the oil, bless the oil, and prepare it for further observance)!  Ask for what you need in a moment, and row your side of the boat!  Light a candle in the dark, even if you think it not enough!  And never give up trusting God!

Happy Hannukkah.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

Is it the lights?  Is it the caroling?  Is it the Christmas tree?  Is it the parties? Maybe it is being around family and friends!  What is it that is so special about this time of year?  Christmas isn’t just a day; it is a season.  In the church, the season is called Advent, a season of waiting for the coming of Christ.  For some, Christmas season starts the moment Thanksgiving is over.  Moreover, for many retailers, the Christmas season started as soon as Halloween was over.  So what makes Christmas Christmas?

If we took away the lights and the trees, would it still be Christmas?  It can’t simply be our friends and family that make it special because they are around us all year long.  I think we can all agree that there is something different about this time of year as if there is something in the air.  People seem to be a little nicer and happier.  Most people are more giving and selfless this time of year. The same homeless shelters and soup kitchens that are begging for volunteers all year long are suddenly packed with volunteers this time of year.  As I was thinking about the Christmas season, I can’t point my finger to any one thing that I do that makes Christmas so special, yet it is. 

As we enter this Christmas season, it made me think, what if Christmas wasn’t just a season, like summer, fall, winter, and spring that lasts a month and then we move on, but rather a way of life?  What if we didn’t just buy gifts for people this time of year, but randomly throughout the year? What if being “nicer” wasn’t just attached to the Christmas season but part of our daily lives as being a Christian? 

If we boil away all of the fluff that surrounds Christmas and we are left with its core, we are left with Christ, the anticipation of his coming, and the hope that we know in Christ as our Savior.  That is something that, as Christians, we shouldn’t just celebrate once a year, but every day of every year. Christ tells us that he came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. Not just for a season, but every moment of every day. Every time we celebrate communion we are to be reminded of the abundant life that Christ calls us to. 

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, I encourage you to spend time tapping into the abundant life that Christ promises us. Once you find it, live it, not just for a season, or while it is easy, but every moment of every day, even when others aren't, because that is what Jesus calls all those who bear his name to do.

I would like to share with you my favorite Thanksgiving blessing.  It has been recited inside prison walls, in hospital rooms, at hospice bedsides, in treatment centers, and in homes throughout America and Canada.  I can close my eyes and hear voices uttering the gracious words giving thanksgiving to God.  It is a wonderful prayer to use as a table grace.  We can never be too grateful.  I wish you all a blessed and grateful Thanksgiving.

Bless the meadows,
Bless the deer,
Bless our loved ones,
far and near.

Bless the apple-
scented air,
Bless the food
that we prepare.

Bless the beaches,
Bless the birds.
Bless the tender
shapes of words.

Bless the cities,
Bless the geese,
Bless the fragile
wings of peace.

Bless the mountains,
Bless the streams,
Bless our starry,
borrowed dreams.

Bless the moon
And bless the sheep
And bless the stranger
sound asleep.

                     -Eileen Spinelli

For the last few weeks members of the choir and other Pinnacle family members have been preparing to go on a pilgrimage. Now, this pilgrimage may not look like others; we are not walking from London to Canterbury to see the blessed saint Thomas Beckett, and ask for miraculous healing after a journey of 55 miles on foot…as the ‘sundry folk’ of Chaucer’s tale did seven centuries ago. We are going to New York City…by plane. Now, New York’s not the first place one thinks of going to on a spiritual pilgrimage, and yet as a part of the family of faith we are going there to sing, fellowship and learn…learn about how ‘sundry folk’ in the big city live their lives of faith.

How does one prepare for such a pilgrimage? Well, to tell you the truth, I haven’t done much mental, emotional, or spiritual preparation. Basically, I spend all my time getting done all those things that allow me to be away for a week. This pilgrimage’s preparation has required of staff and participants a lot of practical preparation…and we’ve had little time to ready our souls for genuine encounter with God who in Christ “plays in 10,000 places.” Perhaps all of us will “prepare the way for the Lord” as we are sitting on the plane Thursday morning…very early.

Isn’t that how one gets ready for a pilgrimage? Look busy. Take care of business. Make sure someone will feed the cat while we’re gone?

Well, yes and no.  The most important thing to say is: every day is a pilgrimage of faith.  So, whether we are going across the country, or across the world, or across the street, each and every day gives us opportunities that pilgrims face out there in the wide world on their wild and unpredictable peregrinations. So, how do we prepare for the daily pilgrimage faith we all make?

I found these wise words to help us out: “The first moment of the pilgrimage experience is the decision to depart, a true inspiration of the heart, but also a vocation, a calling, an invitation to become a part of the pilgrim humanity, which has always set off on the path towards the chosen encounters with the Divine.  Along with the decision comes waiting and expectations: every pilgrim, who has decided to depart, cannot wait to set off on the road, to reach the destination, to contemplate, to listen, to physically and spiritually rest.  In a certain sense, the items a pilgrim packs reveals the kind of experience that he/she wishes to have! The luggage of a pilgrim should contain the essentials of travel, but also those that help to learn and pray.  

Set the stage: What will I find? Who will travel with me? What is God preparing me for? For the pilgrim, leaving is sorrow, yet also life, joy, waiting, expectation, and hope.  The duration of the journey, whether short or long, is not lost or wasted time. Instead it is in itself a time of grace, a precious occasion, and little by little as the minutes and miles pass, the desire for the destination grows.

Before departing, we can dedicate time to reading texts, such as the Bible or spiritual writings. We can gather in prayer and open our hearts to the Word of God allowing our docile, vigil spirit to welcome God’s splendor. We can participate in the worshipping community and begin to ask what it means to “come back to ourselves” and reenter the plan of Creation.”*

These words help us each enter the pilgrimage of every day. Set the stage for encounter and to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

* http://www.kairospilgrimages.com/stages-of-pilgrimage.html