Christmas in the house of the Lord

 I heard her voice in the choir on Christmas-

but that can’t be right, she lives in another state

And I could feel the giant tree hanging from the ceiling

but wait no, that tradition was in Michigan, not here

But sometimes in the sanctuary of God

it seems that time and space are bent, folded into one

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts (Ps 84:1)

I think of all the places God has met me over the years-

so many places,

one in presence before God

one God uniting all of them

and the people in them, too.

As I sang on Christmas eve with my family, my daughter in Wisconsin and her church family seemed present to me, and St Peters with its giant tree, and my Indiana friends, too- I could almost feel their children crawling under pews (wait, are they grown now?)

The voices and faces of the saints who have gone before

moved in and out of my memory

present, too.

I am truly rich in mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers, as I remember all the people I have known and loved in the churches where we have served.

Merry Christmas

to those near

and far

yet near in the Lord

-------

Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise

Psalm 84:4