“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”
You may have heard some version of this when watching any version of A Christmas Carol. This quote is spoken by Ebenezer Scrooge to the ghost of Christmas future, who shows him some quite unsavory realities that may come to pass if he does not change.
“This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine; This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine; This little light of mine, I’m goin’a let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let is shine.” (This Little Light of Mine, an African American Spiritual, ELW 677, verse 1.)
This week, we hear Jesus say to his disciples, “You are the light of the world.
“Good Christian Friends, Rejoice, with heart and soul and voice; now ye need not fear the grave; Jesus Christ was born to save! Calls you one and calls you all, to gain the everlasting hall. Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!” – Third verse of “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice” by John Mason Neale, ELW 288.
Merry Christmas! Yes, I know it is January. Did you think that Christmas has come and gone?
“Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us; let us find our rest in thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth though art, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” (Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus; ELW 254, Charles Wesley)
We have entered the season of Advent. In this season, we wait and prepare for the birth of Jesus.
“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! (This is the Day, Les Garrett, 1967)
I enter the month of October with this earworm stuck on repeat. I find myself humming and singing, “This is the Day” all the time. I sing, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it,” when I walk the dog, as I cook dinner,