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Being the Light and Love of Christ

December 23, 2022

Isaiah 33:17-22 | Revelation 22:6-11 | Luke 1:57-66

Last Saturday morning St. Luke’s was bustling with activity. Folks were in the food pantry organizing the offerings there, the choir was rehearsing for their Christmas Concert, and the Loaves & Fishes volunteers were busy cooking and packaging meals. 

When I arrived at church that morning, a man was standing idly alone in the hallway. He was a large, bear of a man. His work pants were faded and worn, as was the Patriots sweatshirt that offered little protection against the morning’s cold. He was tall, but his shoulders were slumped. And I wondered if that was from years of labor or from current troubles and despair. When I wished him a good morning, his blue eyes briefly met mine and then returned to the floor.

There was another ministry active at St. Luke’s that morning. Pam Dresselhouse was busy putting items in festive tin boxes complete with Christmas cards. She explained to me that the Giving Tree team was readying packages to be picked up that day. 

Later that morning, as I was ferrying food from the kitchen to the L&F truck, I happened past the man I had seen earlier. He was seated on the wooden bench in the hallway. I was stuck by how oversized he seemed on that bench, yet his posture was of one seated very carefully as if in a precious place. He was hunched over, and on his lap he held one of the festive tins Pam had prepared. He hadn’t yet opened the tin. Instead, he had taken care to open the card on top of the tin. He held the envelope gingerly in his large, rough hands and carefully pulled out the card. I couldn’t see the look on his face when he was greeted by the lovely holiday scene on the card. But in that moment hundreds of other moments of St. Luke’s magic flashed through my head. Moments where our faith community carried the light and love of Christ into the world. Moments filled with the Holy Spirit.

May we through faith and good works continue to create such moments for each other and our community in the years to come.

Stacey Nakasian