I find it to be appropriate to be starting my new call as Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran during the season of Advent. As you may know Advent is the season of waiting and preparing for our Lord Jesus to arrive. In another example of waiting, St. Paul and I have been anticipating and preparing for being in ministry together. I pack up one office, to set up a new office, which may take a few more weeks. I said good-bye to some good friends knowing I will make some great relationships at St. Paul. I am sure as a congregation you have been waiting for your next Pastor to partner in ministry here at St. Paul. As a congregation you have been preparing for your new Pastor by helping me get to know some of you already, you have prepared for your new pastor by helping him find housing and some of you prepared for your new Pastor by showing him where the best coffee shops are.
2000 plus years ago the world was unknowingly waiting for their Savior. The only people who truly knew who Mary was carrying were Mary and Joseph. They were waiting and preparing for their child to be born while traveling to Bethlehem to be counted. Our Savior came into the world without a lot of fanfare, just a handful of ragtag shepherds who heard of the birth of Christ from some Angels and some wise men who traveled a long way following a star. The wait for the promised Messiah was over. Christ had come into the world to bring forgiveness and love to all people.
Part of the message of this Advent and Christmas season is that the story did not end on that one evening in Bethlehem. Like the Christmas hymn “Go Tell it on the Mountain” says, we are to proclaim that Jesus Christ is not only born but Jesus Christ came to take away your sin and to proclaim you are a child of God forever. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to go and prepare other disciples by sharing the story our of Savior who came to bring us life through His death and resurrection from the cross.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon Gallatin