Fr. Christopher Leighton and Rev. Gabrielle Beam - December 31st
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Merry Christmas: Christ is Born!
Warmest welcome to you from St. Paul’s parish family. We greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate on this Feast of the Holy Nativity. O come let us adore Him.
May the Prince of Peace reign in our hearts as we bow before Him this day. May the glory of angel hosts surprise us as we say with them, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth.” May the joy of lowly shepherds fill every lonely nook and cranny of our lives. May the Holy Spirit overshadow us as we worship the newborn King.
Your brother in Christ,
Jordan
The Rev. Jordan Easley
Assistant
Dragon at the Manger
The Fourth Sunday of Advent marks the first anniversary of my preaching at St. Paul’s Darien. I cannot believe that a whole year has passed! I can only say “Thank you!” – to God our Heavenly Father, to Fr. Christopher my mentor and partner in ministry, and to you our church family – for calling Leah and me to serve you. I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes us together next year.
In my first sermon at St. Paul’s I mentioned three animals that we should put at the manger. Do you remember them? A Pelican. A Dragon. A Lion. I am not going to recap all of the meaning here, but I did want to ask you one question: Did you know that Christmas marks the beginning of a fairy tale? I don’t mean fairy tale in the sense that Jesus’ birth is just a made-up story. Far from it! Rather, the story of Jesus’ birth is THE story. It is THE fairy tale against which all other tales (true or false) are measured. Think about it.
Revelation 12 tells us of a great dragon, dropping out of the heavens, ready to devour an infant as his virgin mother gives him birth. Satan, the dragon, was indeed ready to destroy our Lord even upon the day of his birth. Yet Revelation 20 describes a rider upon a white horse, who leads a white-robed army against the dragon and casts down the beast forever. One day our Lord Jesus will indeed lead his church into battle, claiming final victory over Satan, the Enemy of the world. This is a fairy tale! The white rider has defeated the dragon and rescued his bride.
J. R. R. Tolkien said, “There was not a tale ever told that man would rather find was true, and none which so many skeptical men have accepted as true on it’s own merits.” Christmas – the Mass of Christ, Jesus’ incarnation – marks the beginning of the greatest and truest story ever told. You and I are characters in a grand fairy tale. There is an old English Christmas carol that sums it up nicely. Listen to the love-song of Jesus to his bride on the day before his birth:
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance;
Sing, oh! My love, oh! My love, my love, my love This have I done for my true love.
Your brother,.
Jordan
The Rev. Jordan Easley
Assistant
It’s Not Too Late!
The woman had just minutes to go before the guests arrived for the Christmas party. She had cleaned and cooked. Now she had to hurry to dress for the occasion. Then the doorbell rang. With irritation just below the surface, she opened the door. There before her was a family who wished to sing a Christmas carol to her. “Oh, no. Not now. I just don’t have the time. Thank you anyway,” she said as she closed the door.
Bing Crosby and his wife shook their heads and gathered their children to go on to the next house. The woman had just missed the opportunity to be sung to personally by one of America’s greatest singers. Why? She just didn’t have the time!
Christmas Day is just two weeks away. It’s not too late to plan to make yourself available to God. You have enough control of your schedule to make and to keep appointments with God. Otherwise the real meaning of Christmas will be missed and it will be too late to receive Jesus who is being sent by the Father as your Christmas gift.
Have a blessed Advent season of preparation.
Christopher
The Rev. Christopher P. Leighton
Rector
Not a Silent Night
I love Christmas carols, but “Silent Night”,. Though it carries good childhood memories for me, is no longer high on my list. Somewhere along the way, I realized that the night our Savior was born was anything but silent. So I was thrilled to discover – and would like to offer to you – a much different carol called “Labor of Love”.
It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
In the streets of David’s town.
And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
Little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold.
Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David’s town
In the middle of the night.
So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move.
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love. - Andrew Peterson
Jesus came into the world through pain and trauma just live every other baby. We have a God who knew human frailty and suffering from the moment he touched down on this planet./ My Savior knew my grief from the beginning and He took it on Himself. That is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!
Your brother,
Jordan
The Rev. Jordan Easley
Assistant