It is a very uncomfortable thing to be powerless. It isn’t healthy to be dehydrated. Losing connectivity creates terrible isolation. To lose all of these in the midst of a hard freeze has been challenging to say the least. These are just a few things I have been reflecting on these last few days as I have tried to stay warm and as I prayed continually for you all to stay safe.

It is time to dig out those jackets as the weather has finally begun to feel a bit like winter in Houston. I always find joy in the shifting of the seasons. When we experience a Houston cold snap, I am nostalgic of long ago bundled up experiences and I get excited about what lay ahead. I find the same is true of liturgical seasons. The green vestments which were so exciting to don in early January have become normalized and as Korey and I pulled out the purple Lenten paraments I was reminded of the many past Ash Wednesdays of my faith journey. Demarcation creates awareness. This will be the last first time we will do something virtually as a church community since we transitioned to virtual worship a few weeks into Lent last year.

It is hard to believe that once we worship virtually on Ash Wednesday, we will have experienced all the major special observances of our liturgical year online. I can’t say that virtual services have gotten easier or feel more normal. I can say that I continue to pray for all of you daily. Many of you have gotten your first vaccine shot and I am so very hopeful that as we move towards the summer, we will begin to see normalcy on the horizon.

In the last six weeks since my family experienced the tragic loss of Sarah’s parents, I’ve heard from so many people, a great many of whom I haven’t spoken with in quite some time. We have been given food, gift cards, Christmas presents, flowers, magnolia trees (seriously, real ones that I planted a couple of weeks ago) and so much more. We even got a delivery of cookies from my favorite cookie shop of all time located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. To say we have been showered with care and prayer would be an understatement. But there is one gift that I have been trying to put my finger on…

When God called out three times “Samuel, Samuel!”, as we heard in our first reading this past week, it was almost comical that Samuel kept believing that it was Eli calling him. Finally, by the third time, the old man realized that it must be God that was calling out to the boy. Following Eli’s instruction, Samuel was prepared the fourth time that God called and the scripture says “Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” I love the image of our persistent God coming and standing there and repeatedly calling out to the boy who was to become God’s prophet. The strong persistence of God’s call is encouraging and comforting.

“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we approach the Monday holiday in remembrance and celebration of Dr. King, I pray that this will be a moment to pause and reflect not only on where we are but also on what creative possibility lies ahead. Time itself is an act of creation in which God offers us yet another moment to have life. One of the most striking things about Dr. King is his repetitive urging to use this gift of time for the sake of others and the sake of the good for all people. This implies it is never too late; there is always possibility in the time we are given. There are so many ways to accept the call to do right with the time gifted to us.

Every heightened demarcation of time inevitably brings reflection and anticipation and few are as universal and culturally highlighted as the beginning of a new calendar year. This year is an incredibly poignant example. With good reason, I don’t think I saw nearly the number of “year in review” type shows and specials this year as in the recent past.

Having had a chance to see the Lessons and Carols service in advance and plan our 5:00 Christmas Eve “Carols and Communion” service with Stephen, I believe this year’s Christmas Eve will be as wonderful as anything can be during this pandemic. I have been so impressed and overjoyed by the creativity and can-do attitude of our staff and parishioners. In some ways, without this period we may never have had the chance to enjoy events like the Nativity Pageant and Lessons and Carols in so unique a way.

Further, in the same vein, our own personal loss in my family has brought an awareness of how beautiful the blessing of community and friends can be in the midst of difficulty. There is always a risk of seemingly denying the hard parts of any experience when naming bright points of light in such times as these. On the other hand, we run very low risk of losing sight of our collective struggle in this pandemic time or personal struggle at the loss of Sarah’s parents.