Throughout the year we offer special worship services that are meant to create an extra bit of space for you to be inspired and enriched. When imagining how these special opportunities might serve our community, Stephen and I think about how to create a space for all of us to be still enough for just a moment to be surprised and inspired by the eternal story and promise of God’s love. In my purest hope for you I imagine an “oh wow” moment in which distractions fade into the background and the most important thing for all of us crystalizes. I know, it sounds ambitious. That said, almost every time we have had a special service together, I believe this has happened. God creates a space of respite and inspiration for us. It is to this possibility that Stephen, our choir, and our readers devote themselves this Sunday.

Leading up to the game between the Lakers and the Thunder on Tuesday, there were plenty of questions about how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would feel about LeBron breaking his all-time scoring record of 38,387 points. When LeBron shot the fated fade away jumper with every person in the crowd holding up their phones to document the moment, Kareem stood waiting on the sideline to congratulate and celebrate the feat of having scored more than any other player ever had. In an article he published on Wednesday Abdul-Jabbar wrote, “Bottom line about LeBron and me: LeBron makes me love the game again. And he makes me proud to be part of an ever-widening group of athletes who actively care about their community.” Rather then losing the record, Abdul-Jabbar celebrated the amazing success of a successor who inspired him.

This week I spent time with six of my closest friends and colleagues on retreat. We gather every year to check in on how ministry and life are going. I thought of this recently when speaking to a friend about her lost husband and the time he used to spend away with his friends every winter. I recall seeing him after his retreat and how present and joyful he was. There is something about getting away with people you love and trust to reflect on the things that fill the routine of our lives.

I was looking back at last year’s Annual Meeting notes and almost one year ago to the day we were getting excited about starting to re-normalize in person worship, bring back all our beloved events, and renew many of the ministries we had missed during the pandemic. It is hard to believe that that was just one year ago, and I am grateful for how far in the rearview mirror such a moment seems. It is not lost on us how wonderful it is to finally have begun to forget what it felt like to yearn for in-person shared ministry.

Holy Spirit’s school has been aflutter with activity this week because it’s time for homecoming. The students have been wearing spirit clothes all week. Mums have been made and distributed (a sentence I would not have understood before moving to Texas). There is a pep rally Friday afternoon in preparation for the big game. While all of this the outward facing celebration is joyous, I can also attest to the significant amount of time and camaraderie that moms have shared behind the scenes getting everything prepared. Community celebrations are wonderful because they bind us together and deepen our mutual commitment to the values and identity we share.

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind.” – I Corinthians 1:4-5

This passage is part of the opening of Paul’s letter to the people in Corinth that we will read this coming Sunday. Paul opens with thanksgiving that the people of Corinth have been made new through the grace of God and enriched in every way. This resonates in me in unexpected ways because I would never think to describe myself as “enriched.” I might normally use words like comforted, supported, assured, and encouraged to describe what it feels like when I experience my faith growing through God’s love and grace. Enriched, on the other hand makes me think of extra “enrichment” classes at school, or the way that sugary cereals are enriched with nutrients to make them less unhealthy.

As I was reading today’s entry in this year’s Advent devotional by Chad Bird, something new occurred to me. We all know the part of the story where Mary was visited by Gabriel to tell her about what was about to happen - that she, a virgin, would have a child who was to be the Son of God. The moment that broke into my imagination this morning was the poignancy of that first kick that she felt when Jesus was in her womb. As a father, I have witnessed that there are many parts of pregnancy that take place before the first kick in utero, but when I could feel and see my children move in Sarah’s tummy it was a whole new reality. The moment when Mary first felt Jesus kick must have been a revelation unto itself.

This past week, I had the pleasure of spending time with two of our little ones who will receive communion for the first time this Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent. We had a great conversation and at the end I asked if they had any more questions. One of them asked me my thoughts on a conversation they’d been having at home, “Which do you like better, Christmas or Easter?” I’ve seen the sort of outcomes such hot topics can result in. Our family has ongoing food debates (I pray my preferences about to be shared don’t cause you to lose any respect for me!): Cookies or Ice Cream? (obviously cookies). Vanilla or chocolate? (without a doubt vanilla). Pumpkin pie or pecan pie? (clearly pecan pie is king of pies!). I just loved that this was the topic on which our new communicate was curious to know my thoughts – Christmas or Easter.