12/01/21
Jim Martin
I was breaking up the Communion bread after a Communion service one day. And I was in a hurry. I was outside in a sort of courtyard next to the chapel. I had a list of things I had to get done. And there was a lot of bread left over. I finally sat on a memorial bench in the yard. All of a sudden, it came to me that I was distributing the presence of Christ, appropriately returning the unused elements back to the earth. It occurred to me that I needed to hold this time as holy, just as the time when the congregation receives the elements. I slowed down and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and determined that I needed to take time to be holy as well.
This is the Season of Advent. I bid us to mindfully hold this Advent season as holy. Let us slow down, inviting the Spirit of God to sit with each of us and just be. A hymn comes to mind, and I share the verses here with you. It’s not a Christmas carol per se, but is an apt reminder of how we all should be before the Lord and with each other. May we all experience a holy Advent this year, and a holy Christmas.
Take Time to Be Holy
| 1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord; abide in him always, and feed on his word. Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak, forgetting in nothing his blessing to seek. 2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; spend much time in secret with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like him thou shalt be; thy friends in thy conduct his likeness shall see. | 3. Take time to be holy, let him be thy guide, and run not before him, whatever betide. In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord, and, looking to Jesus, still trust in his word. 4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul, each thought and each motive beneath his control. Thus led by his Spirit to fountains of love, thou soon shalt be fitted for service above. |
In Christ,
+ Pastor Jim