Sat. 8 Jan. 2022

Reflections on the Season

The Rev. Dr. Thomas O Garnhart

I received this email from Nancy Garnhart, Thomas’s daughter, and I was moved by it. Her father is a retired UM minister living in Franklin, Wisconsin. It is helpful for me to remember that there are communities all over the world gathering to do the good work…knitting the beloved community together…we are not alone! Thanks be to God.—Rob

Christmas Eve 2021 at Blessed Hope UMC, Franklin Wisconsin
I stepped out of my car, cane in hand.
I heard my name. “Merry Christmas!” rang out.
It was Donna. Though in hospice for weeks, she was there.
With her daughter we took the elevator up to the sanctuary.
Worship was rich. It was all about community.
"Jesus was not alone at his birth" shared Pastor Rob.
We sang, we prayed, we sang
we carried burning candles outdoors.
I’m blessed to be in this fragile community of faith.
Among those gathered:
A family facing a diagnosis of the mother’s cancer.
A mature couple celebrating their engagement.
A man dealing with abandonment by a spouse
A woman grieving over a comatose spouse.
Many rejoicing in family present with them.
I greeted a man I first met at a postcard show.
We joked about his twice a year attendance.
Each of us participates in our own way
in the beloved community we call “church.”
Christmas is about Jesus.
As portrayed in the gospels,
Jesus doesn’t give a hoot about beliefs “about him.”
There’s no hint in the gospels
that he would be pleased by thousands singing his praise.
He called others to follow the life he himself lived,
to be part of a beloved community caring for others.
“You are loved by God” was his message, the “Good News.”
Don’t worry about heaven or hell after your gone.
Pray for God’s realm “to come on earth as it is in heaven.”
“Live now in that realm”. That's Jesus invitation.