Previously: Benches, Pageant, Logbook
When I was a pastor, most of the month of December for me was about making sure that everyone else had a special and meaningful experience. I didn’t have to approach it primarily with that mindset, but that’s what I ended up doing. I tended to view the services, the music, the special activities, and especially Christmas Eve worship through that lens.
My final Christmas Eve worship before transitioning into my current role, I recall walking to the back of the sanctuary at the conclusion of the service and hunching over with my hands on my knees as if I’d just completed a marathon. In a way, I had: my responsibilities for the season were finally over. In another sense, such seasonal duties were over for the foreseeable future (unbeknownst to me at the time, although the possibility was on my mind).
I’ve been recalibrating my relationship to this time of year since those days concluded. In recent times, my only responsibilities are to my family, and whatever my church of membership asks me to do. And that’s been enough.
But finally, five years later, I’m faced with a unique opportunity to preach and lead Christmas Eve worship for my hometown congregation, the one that nurtured me into ministry to begin with. They’re between pastors at the moment, and have been making do with a series of interims and supply preachers. But they apparently wanted someone they knew and trusted to preside over this special time.
I didn’t hesitate. First, coming home to this congregation has never brought hesitation for me. I’ve been honored and privileged to return many times over the years, and I’ve been glad to do so every time. But beyond that, I can recall many Christmas Eve services in the pews of this church: the music, the candles, the sacred spirit of the evening. To oversee this wonderful time for them will be my pleasure.
I may very well still hunch over at the end of the evening. But it will be at the conclusion of a labor of love. And then I’ll return from one home to another, my joy taken in the season continuing rather than just beginning.
If you enjoyed this reflection, check out my Advent book, Four Weeks: Reflections for Advent.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 