Friend of a Friend

Recently I’ve been discovering my friends know each other - someone from Synod knows my old colleagues in Utah, a clergy friend knows my neighbor in Cohousing, etc. I had a similar experience during my retreat last week, when I sought out an online community I could pray with away from work. After googling “online morning prayer 9 am eastern time,” I bookmarked the first hit and planned to log on. Well, imagine my delight when I realized that this Episcopal church in Tequesta, Florida was only an hour and a half from where Good Shepherd member Linda Poppe lives! And they have a collaboration with the South Florida Haiti Project! And, to top it all off, their congregation is also named Good Shepherd! That realization of “it’s a small world” is truly of one of the best feelings there is.

When you approach the manger this Christmas, I hope you feel that way about the baby Jesus. As God, he is intimately connected to every single person you know. Even those who aren’t Christian recognize his virtues like kindness in their own traditions and are cognizant that Christmas is his birthday. We are like a big family of many siblings who must willingly share our Father with others.

But here’s the amazing thing about the incarnation. As a baby, God chose to leave behind his omniscience of all beings - and even his awareness of his union with the Trinity - to become a human who meets us one-on-one, in our limited and particular mode of relationships. So as much as Jesus is the ultimate “friend of a friend," this Holy Infant is also uniquely YOUR friend. As you worship this Christmas, I hope you let him love you individually, as he was born to do.

With love, Pastor Chelsea