December 30, 2019 - Grace and peace from our brother, Jesus, Amen. Happy New Year! Whether we are ready or not, 2020 is about to begin. We at Paxton United Methodist Church hope all our friends and neighbors had a very Merry Christmas. Sue and I went to our daughter’s house in Dallas. We celebrated the birth of the Christ child with our daughter, son, brother, and sister-in-law. We went out to dinner on Christmas Eve, and even though our daughter made reservations over a month ago, the restaurant was packed and running behind schedule. They finally found room for us, and we had a delicious dinner.
We had a wonderful Christmas full of good food, family, friends, and gifts. It was a relaxing day (with the kids taking care of everything). Sue and I headed back home to Joaquin the day after Christmas—and after having breakfast at Dallas’ Pancake Shop. As usual, I got lost trying to get to Highway 80, and we spent some extra time in Dallas. But once out of Dallas, it was smooth sailing.
Our four-legged family members, Sam and Gunter, were happy to see us, and the feeling was mutual. It is always good to get home: Dorothy sure had it right when she said, “There is no place like home.”
Our loyal crew will be heading to Lakeside Village Assisted Living on New Year’s Eve day. We always have a great time visiting, telling stories, and singing songs. I imagine we are still going to sing some Christmas carols — I don’t think one ever tires of singing and hearing these songs of hope and peace. During the month of December we have been collecting cans of soup at Paxton Methodist for Community Christian Services. In January we will be collecting cans of tuna.
The first week of the New Year, Methodist ministers send to the District and Conference offices their church’s End of Year Reports. Gene got all the financial information to me, and that has made filling out the reports relatively easy. Gene and I will sign the completed reports Sunday and off they’ll go. These reports are a New Year’s tradition among Methodists, but fortunately, we can send them online now instead of going physically to the offices.
Ms. Fannie had a really good lesson for Sunday School, as always. The scripture comes from the Book of Acts, where Jesus promises that the Spirit will help the disciples carry out their mission. The author of our Sunday School lesson says that “Spirit-filled living means we have work to do.” That is good to remember as we consider our New Year’s resolutions. The writer defines “grace” as “God’s loving presence in our lives.” Grace is a cornerstone of Wesleyan theology and the Methodist movement.
The Gospel Lesson for Sunday is a story found only in the Matthew Gospel. Herod tries to enlist the help of the Magi to find this newborn “King of the Jews.” But the Magi are warned to avoid Herod when they leave Bethlehem. True to his cruel reputation, Herod sends a goon squad to Bethlehem to kill the children two years old and younger. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escape to Egypt just in time.
In Christian tradition, the third day of Christmas is the Feast of the Innocents or “Childermas.” I watched a special on TV about Christmas celebrations during the time of King Henry VIII of England. This Third of Christmas was especially poignant to the people of Tudor times because of the high infant mortality rate. No family – rich or poor – was able to escape the cruel fact that so many children never reached adulthood. So this day became not only a day of remembrance of the slaughtered innocents of Bethlehem but also the innocent children who died so young in the families of Tudor England.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
