2017 Worship Guide

2017 WORSHIP GUIDE Wednesday, December 6, 2017 LINCOLN DAILY NEWS PUBLICATION Page 31 A s a child, I wasn’t neat or tidy. At home, my room was always a mess: making my bed wasn’t my strong suit, and I rarely put my dirty clothes into the laundry hamper. Dusting and vacuuming… let’s not go there! My clothes and my room were both what some would call “lived in.” Fortunately, I’ve changed. I now appreciate cleanliness and tidiness (I even vacuum twice each week). As the kids say, “I’m adulting so well!” Despite my history with neatness, I enjoy having a clean space and welcoming others to a meal, to listen to vinyl records, or to share a sunset beverage. There’s a lot that goes into hosting, yet the irony is that most folks always say, “Oh, you didn’t need to clean for us. Just being together is enough for us!” It’s easy to lose focus trying to be neat and tidy that I overlook the importance of simply being present. This makes me think about the seasons awaiting us at the end of the year. For many Christians, we have entered into the liturgical (or church) season called “Advent,” meaning arrival. Each Sunday leading to Christmas, we light candles to guide us in preparing for the Christ child, the Light of the World. Many churches decorate their sanctuaries, host Christmas pageants, have potluck meals, Christmas parties, or ornament exchanges, and on and on…. Inside and outside the church, December is a blizzard of activity, and what we call “the holiday season” turns out to be the most stressful time of all. In preparing for all the things , we may experience contrasting emotions: when I was a child, I was eager, but now as an uncle and pastor, I am frazzled and sentimental, respectively. Perhaps you can sympathize with me. We might glow during one moment at the thought of reuniting with friends while the next finds us utterly alone. Hope mingles with dread. Anticipation dances with despair. We may sense the season’s deeper meaning, but we reach out for it in vain or are too tired to appreciate Advent’s rhythms and the joy nearing us at Christmas. In the end—despite our preparations—we are frustrated and drained. It is easy to forget the reason for the season . This is why I love the Gospel according to Mark. It was the first gospel written, and it doesn’t include a birth narrative about Jesus. Instead, Mark begins with the proclamation of good news—the arrival of God’s promised reign on earth. Unlike those of Matthew or Luke and beyond John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, Mark doesn’t prepare us for Jesus’s arrival. There is no shining star, no lowing cattle, no Mary or Joseph; there is only Jesus. Jesus called men and women to follow him, brought inclusion to those considered outsiders by their community, offered hope to those cast aside because of appearance, and extended love to those left alone. This portrait of Christ is what I appreciate about Mark’s gospel. First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln Adam Quine Preparing CONTINUED ....