The season of Advent is a busy time for a parish pastor. The regular work of ministry goes on - writing Sunday sermons, preparing Sunday worship, Bible study or Confirmation to prepare, people to counsel, homebound to visit and any number of unscheduled things that can crop up on a given day or week.
But work increases at Advent. There are extra sermons to write and extra services to prepare. There is the need to be sure that volunteers are willing to serve at the extra services. Every pastor wants to make the Advent season as meaningful as possible. But the hours are many and the days are long. There were years when I worked myself into exhaustion. I hated the fact that there were times when Advent and Christmas were over and all I could do was breath a sigh of relief.
But then I started taking to heart Paul's words to the Philippians 4:4-5 - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
It was so comforting to know that I wasn't doing all this work on my own. The Lord was near to me. I picked up His Word and He spoke to me. I looked at my baptismal certificate on the wall and rejoiced that I was a child of His kingdom, I thought about the communion elements on the altar and gave thanks that Jesus met me right there, giving me His body and blood.
As this realization took hold, I attached a sticky note to my computer monitor - THE LORD IS NEAR! Since I spent so much time at the computer I was reminded again and again that God had not left me on my own to do the work of the ministry I had been called to do.
The Lord is near to you as well. He is near as you as you are taken into the surgical room. He is near to you when it seems that your family has abandoned you. What ever the situation might be, He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Paul instructs us to rejoice. Today, rejoice that the Lord is near to you!
