{"id":104110,"date":"2024-12-22T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=104110"},"modified":"2024-12-22T11:00:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:00:28","slug":"a-pastors-thoughts-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/","title":{"rendered":"A Pastor\u2019s Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Pastor Leon Jicha, Park Terrace Community, Little Meadows and Apalachin UMC —<\/span><\/p>\n

We have almost made it to the end; finally, it\u2019s the fourth week in Advent, the candle represented by love. There\u2019s a particular feeling evoked by the word almost. We\u2019re almost on vacation. Dinner is almost done. Christmas is almost here. For me, almost brings this sense of excitement, combining hope, peace, joy, and love. I keep pushing forward, holding out just a little bit longer than I think I can.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m working out as an example of this, whether it\u2019s getting through another set of push-ups or my bike ride is nearing its finish, I say to myself, “You are almost done, keep going, you got this.\u201d   <\/span><\/p>\n

Almost can make me lean in with anxiety or hope or a mix of both. What is it about almost that makes us lean in? What\u2019s on the other side that makes us hold out a little longer? Often, it\u2019s the promise that what we\u2019ve been waiting for will come to fruition. Every workout finished is a step closer to a promise of becoming a healthier version of myself.<\/span><\/p>\n

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we receive a promise with the hope of fruition – not hope as a wish but hope actively moving toward fulfillment.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Luke chapter one, Mary is pregnant with the Messiah, and Elizabeth witnesses the promise coming into being right in front of her.<\/span><\/p>\n

To get to Elizabeth, though, Mary had to travel nearly 100 miles while in the early stages of pregnancy, so it was not an easy journey.<\/span><\/p>\n

The way was also filled with many dangers, so most likely either Joseph accompanied Mary or arranged for a caravan for her safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

I imagine Mary said to herself several times, “We are almost there.\u201d In her womb, Mary is carrying this promise, a promise of provision, security, and peace. We are all recipients of this real, tangible promise – the promise that is already here and not yet. The promise that is almost.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the work that we have been doing getting ready, cleaning up the clutter, the mess in our lives, to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah is almost here. <\/span><\/p>\n

Contained within the almost of Advent is the promise that our work is vital. By grace, we participate with God in making this almost a reality not only in our own lives and in our homes, but also in our neighborhoods and communities. <\/span><\/p>\n

We see an empty manger in our nativity scene in our homes and yet know that it is almost time for that promise to be born.<\/span><\/p>\n

We, as God\u2019s children, have been invited into that promise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only have we been invited in, but we are called to invite others into that promise of hope, peace, joy, and love. <\/span><\/p>\n

After Mary meets Elizabeth and the babies leap with joy (Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist), Mary breaks into a song of praise that is only found in the Gospel of Luke. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s song is called The Magnificat, meaning \u201cmy soul magnifies the Lord\u201d in Latin.<\/span><\/p>\n

In verses 46-47 she says, \u201cMy soul praises the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary is excited about the coming promise that is almost here, and is filled with the Spirit. <\/span><\/p>\n

In verse 49, Mary declares that she will be called blessed because \u201cthe Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mary understands the mercy that God has bestowed through this promise and knows that it will ripple through generations to come. <\/span><\/p>\n

That promise that is here and almost here is love incarnate. <\/span><\/p>\n

May God bless each of you and your generations this Christmas, and may you live into the promise – it\u2019s almost here. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Pastor Leon Jicha, Park Terrace Community, Little Meadows and Apalachin UMC — We have almost made it to the end; finally, it\u2019s the fourth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":104111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nA Pastor\u2019s Thoughts - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Pastor\u2019s Thoughts - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Pastor Leon Jicha, Park Terrace Community, Little Meadows and Apalachin UMC — We have almost made it to the end; finally, it\u2019s the fourth...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-22T16:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2024\/12\/Faith_Column.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"237\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"266\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/\",\"name\":\"A Pastor\u2019s Thoughts - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2024\/12\/Faith_Column.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-22T16:00:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2024\/12\/22\/a-pastors-thoughts-20\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2024\/12\/Faith_Column.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2024\/12\/Faith_Column.jpg\",\"width\":237,\"height\":266,\"caption\":\"Pictured is Pastor Leon Jicha, Park Terrace Community Church. 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