“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”  -Psalm 98:1-3

Joy to the World, for ALL the World has been our theme through Advent.  As we move closer to Christmas, the excitement rises. As Psalm 98 proclaims, “The Lord has remembered his love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”  The joy that Jesus brings is for all to experience to the ends of the earth! The last verse of the hymn “Joy to the World” says, “He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove, the glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love.”

God is active and working, proving his love, showing his love, over, and over, and over, in the world and in our lives.  It isn’t just in the good things, that we feel God’s love, but also in the struggle and the difficulties. I am amazed, over and over, at God’s love and presence in my life.  The other day, while washing dishes after dinner with my family, the kids were playing, Jamey was watching football and I was overwhelmed with a sense of thanks to God for my precious family.  Mind you, I don’t often wash the dishes and feel thankful… mostly I feel tired. But I was remembering how many years I prayed and waited and begged God for this family and I don’t say thank you often enough.  I was amazed at the wonder of God’s love for me. Even in those lonely years, God was remembering his love for me.

Where in your life are you amazed at the wonder of God’s love for you?  Through the hard stuff of life and in the midst of celebration, God’s love reaches into our world and showers us with love.  A few weeks ago, as we were decorating our Christmas tree, our son, Paul, was in awe and wonder at the ornaments and lights. In years past, he didn’t really notice the things on the tree.  He saw them and enjoyed the lights twinkling, but he hadn’t helped put things on the tree before. Over and over, he kept saying, “Mom, this is so neat! I just love these ornaments! This tree is so special!”  He was amazed at the wonder of all the little things which were old and new, told the story of his life and his family, and were just fun.

If you are struggling to see the wonder of God’s love this Christmas season, I invite you to join us in worship at Kennewick First Presbyterian Church.  Whether you arrive in a loud car, full of family, or drive to the church all alone, you will be surrounded by the family of God and join our voices singing, “Joy to the World!  The Lord is come!”

Eternal God of love, you never forget your love for us, and that amazes me.  Thank you for the season of Advent where we watch and wait for the coming of your Son.  Help us to continually be in awe and wonder of your love for us and for the world. In Christ we pray, Amen.

Rev. Hanna Peterson Shearer