In our family we have three children currently ages 28, 25, and 17. For 8 years we were a family of 4. So the 4 of us have many memories of shared experiences before the third child was born. There are times when we refer to things that our youngest child, Malcolm, does not remember. These are things that happened either before he was born or when he was very young. One of the older kids will comment, “Remember when you used to make those delicious fried donuts?” Malcolm looks puzzled. What fried donuts? He’s never eaten homemade fried donuts. “Oh, that was before you were born.” Or someone will refer to the time we went to a theme park for a birthday. “When did we do that?” Malcolm will ask. “Oh, that was before you were born.” Or we will reminisce about how we used to do this, go here, or do that. And poor Malcolm, knows nothing of it. “Oh, that was before you were born.” He’s gotten the idea that all the cool stuff happened before he came along. We had all the good times without him. There is the image of those glory days of times gone by that he missed. Don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s hardly suffering!
It’s easy to create and accept the idea of a glorious past. Who can dispute your memories or your images of the past? These things generally cannot be proven. We are left with our impressions and they become our reality. Malcolm thinks all the good times rolled in our household before he can remember. Hm.
We have a lot of control over the past: How we remember it. How much influence we give it. What it means to us. When it comes to our faith, sometimes people think that the best has already been. All those stories in the Bible. Jesus’ birth and ministry and teaching. The early church. Those were the glory days. The best times have come and gone. It’s been downhill ever since.
But as we were reminded in church this morning, the birth of Jesus was a beginning. The ministry and teaching of Jesus was a beginning. It is a foundation upon which to build. It is not the completed structure, now deteriorating and crumbling. It is a firm foundation. The building is still going on. There is much left to do. The glory is still to be fully appreciated.
This season at LUCC we are celebrating the song of the angels: Glad tidings of great joy to ALL people. There are still glad tidings to hear of the amazing things that God is doing today. There are new stories of God’s love and care. There are more amazing tales of faithfulness and courage yet to be told. We will look for these glad tidings throughout this Advent season. The angels have not finished singing yet.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 