December 31, 2017 They Grow Up Too Fast
As I spend some time with my three Connecticut grandchildren (and Skype with my two older ones in Colorado), it’s hard to believe how quickly they’re growing up.
This Sunday’s Scripture passage captures that all-to-familiar feeling of parents and grandparents who long to slow or even halt their children’s development. Mary and Joseph have gone up to the Temple in Jerusalem to present their newborn son Jesus, just days after his birth. At the Temple, a righteous man named Simeon comes forward and prophesies of Jesus’ life. In his short prophesy, this infant’s entire life is encapsulated – all the glory and all the pain.
How quickly Jesus will grow up! Too soon, Mary will stand at the foot of his cross; and all the world will know that this baby, who’s birth we celebrated a few days ago, is the Lamb of God, given for the sins of the world.
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We’ll also announce this Sunday an important sermon series during the month of January focusing on the issues that The United Methodist denomination has been struggling with for decades and whether there is a clear road forward toward reconciliation and unity.
In Christ’s Grace and Peace, Pastor Bob
Luke 2:22-40