My Favorite Moment

By Dr. Jay Marshall Groat

          So far in my career I’ve been called to serve three congregations as an ordained Christian pastor. The first I served for nine and a half years, the second three and a half years, and my service to our congregation has now reached eleven and a half years.

      Even I can do this math. My service to our congregation is my longest tenure to date.

      This means I now grant myself the privilege to make some wide-sweeping generalizations. Here’s one – year in and year out, my favorite worship moment of the year comes at our annual 8pm Christmas Eve Worship Service.

       Notice I choose the singular here – I say this service is my favorite yearly moment. The entire worship service, which usually lasts about 70 minutes, is a single cosmic moment for me. And I think I know why. Here are just a few of the reasons –

-           The service comes during the darkness of winter and takes place at night. The scriptures tell us that the angels announcing Jesus’ birth visited the shepherds at night and the shepherds were filled with fear. There is something especially holy and courageous about hearing the good news of Christmas Light at night.

-          Everyone gets to hold a burning candle while singing Silent Night together in the darkness. Always remember that the words silent and listen are comprised of identical letters of the alphabet.

-          The service always holds inspiring music. And for the past few years we’ve been intentional on having our youth musicians participate. Always remember that Jesus said a key to experiencing God as an adult is being childlike in our faith.

-           The service is intergenerational. I love it when our high school and college-age young people read Christmas scripture. Always remember that as a congregation we are only as strong as how much love we give to our young people.

-          The service is an annual spiritual touchstone for so many of our extended families. Often this worship service is the only time whole families worship together during the entire year. There are always a lot of “lost sheep” from our families who attend this annual service. Always remember that not one of us is in any position to judge anyone else; we all have been lost sheep at some point in our lives.

     There is something special and unique about our Traditional Christmas Eve 8pm service. There’s something cosmic and mysterious about it. The living Spirit of Christ prevails there. I’m looking forward to it again this year. I hope to see you there.

      You see, if Christmas is about anything at all, it is about light. Come light a candle.