“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

Sometimes it helps to get work done by listening to music.  I often listen to instrumental music when writing because lyrics tend to distract me.  Though the other day I was letting my Christmas playlist (painstakingly assembled over the years on iTunes) just do its thing.  On came Luciano Pavarotti singing, “O Holy Night.”  His beautiful rendition gave me pause, and a line in the song stood out crystal clear:

“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” 

That single line of the song captures some of the beauty of this holy season for me. 
The birth of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us, does feel like a thrill of hope. 
Reason for our weary world to rejoice. 
The continual rebirth of Christ in the human heart can feel like that new and glorious morn. 
When we are part of a community of faith, we are part of something so much larger than ourselves.  Just like Jesus, we are named and claimed by God and we are part of the Body of Christ.

Sometimes we approach Christmas more exhausted than we care to admit. 
Moreover, how many times do we power through these next few weeks and think, “Oh I’ll get to that after the holidays” only to get slammed in January! 
I don’t know if you need a Pastor Pep Talk this week, but if you do, here it is: 
some days, especially at this time of year, are downright exhausting. 
There’s just too much to do, too many places to be, too many people to see, too many memories, an empty place at the table . . . you name it. 
Sometimes it’s just a little too much!
What may help is to somehow feel that thrill of hope, that reason for our weary world to rejoice.  It could be a small moment in the midst of a busy day that helps to remind you that you are not in this life alone and you are part of a community of faith. 
Wishing you God’s peace through it all. 

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 12/16/21