Today in the Mission Yearbook - Nativity of the Lord | Christmas

God’s family on the move

Photo provided

There’s never a good time to move.

Mary knew it. And Joseph did, too. And yet, despite Mary’s being great with child, they left their home in Nazareth of Galilee to travel to Bethlehem of Judea when God and civic duty called.

Like the Holy Family, I didn’t want to move. We were comfortable in our community, moored in our ministries. And yet, because God’s call once again proved irresistible, off we went in September from the relative warmth of Louisville to the lake effect snow and bitter cold temperatures of Rochester, New York.

There’s never a good time to move.

But this last move was easy compared with the one we made nearly 30 years ago. Great with child myself at that time, I remember sitting on the floor of my church office, staring up at the crowded bookshelves and down at the empty packing boxes, immobilized and in tears. I couldn’t move. And yet somehow, I did.

Somehow, with our soon-to-be-born daughter Elizabeth — named for Mary’s visit to her similarly expectant cousin in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel — leaping for joy in my womb, and my husband John’s steady hand coaxing me onward, we packed up and drove off.

And not surprisingly, all these many years and several moves later, some of those same boxes remain unopened. Such are the realities of moving.

And this first Christmas in our new home has proved especially challenging. At the bottom of which unpacked box, we wondered, would we find our family’s Christmas stockings? No matter, really, since there’s no fireplace or mantel here on which to hang them. But, even more importantly, where was John’s Nativity collection? That discovery was far more critical, because Elizabeth’s annual tradition has always been to arrange — and rearrange — each beloved grouping of figures, a practice she planned to teach our 1-year-old grandson Elijah this year.

Just as we were about to despair of ever finding them, the angel’s words never rang truer: “Fear not!”

For amid all the boxes, open or not, stacked high in our basement, the Nativity set we bought for Elijah last year in anticipation of this very moment rose to the top.

It was a sign. In a miraculous season filled with signs and wonders.

There’s never a good time to move. But at Christmas, whatever journey — whether arduous or easy — has led us to this day, let us rejoice in the miracle of resilience that brought us wherever we are and that sent Mary and Joseph to the city of David to deliver to us a Savior, who never ceases to surprise and delight us with the good news of great joy for all people.

Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Interim Unified Agency, PC(USA)

Let us join in prayer for:

• Diana Burgos, Cook, Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Mission Agency
• Erica Burns, IS Specialist, Presbyterian Foundation 

Let us pray:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace and goodwill among people. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Nativity of the Lord | Christmas

We are there

December 25, 2023

My presence at the birth was completely unexpected.

In the giddy yet seemingly endless days leading to the birth of our first grandchild on Nov. 9, our daughter, Elizabeth, and I talked about everything under the sun. Whether I had stretch marks after pregnancy. Who would drive her to the hospital when her labor pains began. Who would walk the dogs while she was in the hospital. How much paternity leave would her husband, Ryan, get. When could her father, John, and I share the news on Facebook.

But never did we ever say a thing about my being in the delivery room. And yet I was there.

On the day her water broke and she was admitted to the hospital, because we were all so sure the baby wouldn’t arrive until the wee hours the following morning, I went home. Then, after no call came overnight, she texted me at 5 a.m. not to rush. So, I took our son-in-law’s breakfast order instead.

With a Chick-fil-A bag in either hand, I knocked on the door around 7:20 a.m. and entered her hospital room. Without realizing it at first, I found myself walking into active labor. And after asking and receiving her permission to stay, I was instructed by the nurse to stand by her bedside and place my hand behind her neck to help with the delivery.

I was there to witness the miracle of birth. And, what’s more, I unwittingly played a part in welcoming 7-pound 14-ounce Elijah Taylor Odom into the world.

Today is Christmas Day. At Christmas, the church celebrates and gives thanks “for the arrival of God’s Word made flesh — the light of God that has come into the world, the light that even death could not extinguish.”

And, if even for a moment, we should ever think we weren’t there to behold the miracle, we were.

Or, as the Christmas stanza of pastor and hymnwriter Chris Shelton’s beautiful hymn “We Were Not There (We Are There)” proclaims:

We were not there out on the hillside
when the heavens rang with joy
or when the shepherds sought the savior
in the hay — a helpless boy —
but every time we echo angels
speaking words of peace on earth,
and every time we live as shepherds,
risking moments of new birth,
and every time we see God giving
gifts beyond all earthly worth,
then we are there out on that hillside.
In our living,
in our giving,
we are there.

 Emily Enders Odom, Associate Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus: Nativity of the Lord | Christmas Day

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Doug Tilton, Mission co-worker serving in South Africa, World Mission, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Mason Todd, Admin. Asst. Church Leadership Connection Office of the General Assembly

Let us pray

Holy child of Bethlehem, you are the hope of the world, the song of the angels, the treasure of our hearts and the glory of God among us. Call us to worship you in the places where your love is born anew: wherever kindness prevails, justice flourishes and peace reigns. Send us out to serve you, sharing good news of great joy, and praising God through you in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Longing for home: A reflection on the Nativity of the Lord

This Christmas might feel different, but God is still with us

December 25, 2020

Living room decorated for Christmas.

Christmas recalls memories of home. Times full of awe as family gathers around wood-burning fires and glistering lit trees. A place of comfort and room at the table for everyone.

The story of Jesus’ birth reminds us of home, too. It is a story of a young family on the road, away from familiar comforts. An unwed couple needing a safe place to spend the night as they welcome a child into their lives. I imagine the first Christmas felt chaotic as the young couple wandered through the desert longing for home.

Yet in those uncertain moments, unexpected visitors arrived with gifts fit for a king. Gifts not intended for a child instead proclaiming promises past while foreshadowing future possibilities. 

This Christmas, home feels different to us. Our world aches for a sense of normalcy. We want to gather with family, but COVID-19 separates us. Traveling refugees in the United States and around the world yearn for a place to spend the night. Our neighbors of color long for a night of sound sleep knowing their life matters to those whose duty it is to protect and serve them. Our country sits on edge as power transitions to a new presidential administration.

The Nativity of our Lord reminds us that in the uneasy movements of life, God shows up. Chaos does not have the last word. It shares the story of an unwelcomed child, who has no place to call home in this world. It holds a truth greater than imaginable, that same child came to love all.

These times and this ancient story remind us that we have a responsibility to rethink the meaning of home. Who do we include in our lives? Who do we exclude intentionally or pass by mistakenly?

Christmas invites us into the lives of a young outcast family on the move. As we wander through the desert together, may we pay attention to the unexpected visitors treating them as divine guest.

Christina Cosby; Mission Specialist; Middle East, Europe and Central Asia Office; World Mission

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Ahmad Abri, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Mark Adams and Miriam Maldonado Escobar, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us pray:

God of the dark night and God of the new day, we give thanks for your son Emmanuel, God with us. Help us bridge the divides separating us from one another. In order that we may better notice your unexpected guests among us. It is in Jesus’ holy name we pray, amen.