Introduction

This article is the December 2010 installment of my monthly message in the parish newsletter for Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb.

Message

For Now

Words have a funny way of sharing just a bit of themselves now…and then waiting for the right time…and then revealing a little more of the truth they hold inside.

Interim is one of those words. Its plain sense is clear enough. It means “between” and “for now” and—like this newsletter column’s title—“in the meantime.” It points to what came before it and to what promises to come after it.

Then, when we put that word together with “pastor,” we get the title of the role—the ministry—you had invited me to carry out in your midst, in God’s Church, in this place, for the sake of his mission to Beatrice and to the whole world.

I am grateful for the confidence and the trust you have placed in me by welcoming me into the community of Holy Cross Church. Your hospitality from the first day has been warm and inviting and a source of joy in my ministry.

We have shared the life that our Lord has given us, the moments both memorable and fleeting when we have known joy and sadness. I am honored to have been able to share these times with you.

I respect how you listen for God to tell you about the possibilities he sees for ministry in this place. This is a sign of faith and a joy to witness. You will be in my prayers as you and Pastor Linda Walz embark on the next leg of your journey as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a time in the life of the Church when the challenges and threats, both internal and external, can seem overwhelming. But no matter what, we can cling to the promise God our Father has made to preserve the Church until the day when his Son returns in power.

The Fitting Time

It’s fitting, somehow, for us to come to the end of our “meantime” together during the season of Advent, itself a time poised between the times. We are looking back to the prophets and to John the Baptizer in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. We are busy preparing to celebrate the coming of that Christ in our midst. And finally, we look to the day when our risen Lord will come in power at the end.

This is a humbling and inspiring time. And in light of the Light that is dawning, we can say little that is more appropriate than the ancient prayer that ends the book of Revelation and punctuates our weekly gatherings at the Eucharist.

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus.