26 Dec Dwell
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter
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This Sunday we finish our sermon series “Housing the Holy.” This series used the “Innkeeper” from the Bethlehem narrative as its starting point and asked us how we could make the most of our resources, personal and congregational, to best “house the holy” among us?
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Celebrating the birth of new life is a beautiful, joyous occasion. I can only imagine the overwhelming emotions that Mary, Joseph, and those who came to visit the Christ-child would have felt. What emotions do you feel as you remember the Christmas story? What memories return to you as you reflect upon past Christmases? What floods your imagination as you contemplate what future Christmas celebrations may bring? Rather than checking “Christmas party” off of our proverbial to-do list, the invitation for us this year is to dwell in the Spirit of Christmas.
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Developed in the 14th century, the word “dwell” became known as a “lingering” or “abiding.” It had connections to “in-habit”–another word developed at that time. After an Advent season of focusing on housing the holy, how will we linger and abide in this habit of hospitality? What habits did you invite into your heart in this season that you desire to take with you into the new year? How might we sustain the dwelling places that feed, house, clothe those who need it most?
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Join us this Sunday as we lean into some ancient wisdom regarding how we are called to live and how dwelling in the Spirit of Christmas can help us discern how each of us can do our part to house the holy.