The Village ILWIDIot
Walt Wiltschek
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” —Luke 2:4, NIV
Bureaucracy, it is said, is one of the constants of the universe. Just look at the Christmas story. Along with angelic messages, right at the center of the narrative we find a sprawling Roman bureaucracy. A census—for tax purposes, no less—begins our holy couple’s journey to Bethlehem, uprooted from their home in Nazareth some 90 miles away.
Holy or not, I can imagine Joseph and Mary being less than pleased at this turn of events: Mary very pregnant, Joseph wondering what to do about it all, and now they had to trek across the countryside to go stay with relatives in whatever space was available. Thousands of others probably were streaming down the highways and byways along with them.
Between God and Caesar, their life had been shaken up like a proverbial snow globe, changed in every way imaginable: physically, socially, emotionally, financially. Even their solid spiritual core had to be a bit jolted. Yet, as we know, it was through all the changes they endured that the grand wave of transformation coming through Christ entered the world.
Change happens. We’re saying goodbye this month to Andrea Garnett, our district administrative assistant for the past seven-plus years and welcoming Peg Moylan to the role. The district office is moving from Canton back up to Lombard. Five congregations are now formally in the search process as pastors retire, move, or accept new calls. Others are experimenting with new realities of shared ministry teams with greater lay involvement. Meanwhile, the national faith landscape and political picture are shifting around us, too.
Mary and Joseph could probably empathize with us right now. “Change is tough,” they might tell us. “Try sleeping on straw after a multi-day trip and giving birth in rather rustic guest quarters with a feeding trough for a crib. It’s exhausting. I’m not sure we can do it … but God can. This isn’t the life we had imagined, but it’s stirring our imaginations in new ways. But enough for now. Time to let the baby sleep—as soon as we move that sheep.”
As change swirls around us, may you also find the hope among the hassles, pondering in your shaken hearts what it all might mean and what yet might come of it. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace; goodwill to all.
“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” —Luke 2:4, NIV
Bureaucracy, it is said, is one of the constants of the universe. Just look at the Christmas story. Along with angelic messages, right at the center of the narrative we find a sprawling Roman bureaucracy. A census—for tax purposes, no less—begins our holy couple’s journey to Bethlehem, uprooted from their home in Nazareth some 90 miles away.
Holy or not, I can imagine Joseph and Mary being less than pleased at this turn of events: Mary very pregnant, Joseph wondering what to do about it all, and now they had to trek across the countryside to go stay with relatives in whatever space was available. Thousands of others probably were streaming down the highways and byways along with them.
Between God and Caesar, their life had been shaken up like a proverbial snow globe, changed in every way imaginable: physically, socially, emotionally, financially. Even their solid spiritual core had to be a bit jolted. Yet, as we know, it was through all the changes they endured that the grand wave of transformation coming through Christ entered the world.
Change happens. We’re saying goodbye this month to Andrea Garnett, our district administrative assistant for the past seven-plus years and welcoming Peg Moylan to the role. The district office is moving from Canton back up to Lombard. Five congregations are now formally in the search process as pastors retire, move, or accept new calls. Others are experimenting with new realities of shared ministry teams with greater lay involvement. Meanwhile, the national faith landscape and political picture are shifting around us, too.
Mary and Joseph could probably empathize with us right now. “Change is tough,” they might tell us. “Try sleeping on straw after a multi-day trip and giving birth in rather rustic guest quarters with a feeding trough for a crib. It’s exhausting. I’m not sure we can do it … but God can. This isn’t the life we had imagined, but it’s stirring our imaginations in new ways. But enough for now. Time to let the baby sleep—as soon as we move that sheep.”
As change swirls around us, may you also find the hope among the hassles, pondering in your shaken hearts what it all might mean and what yet might come of it. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace; goodwill to all.
<< Home