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The Episcopal Church
of the Resurrection
1433 NW R.D. Mize Road, Blue Springs, MO
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Weekly e-mail
Friday, December 24, 2021
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Christmas Services
Christmas Eve
Friday, December 24, 2021
Holy Eucharist Rite II at 4:30 pm
Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 pm
(preceded by the singing of carols at 10:00 pm)
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Christmas Day
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 am
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First Sunday after Christmas
Sunday, December 26, 2021
One service only
Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 am
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The Glorious Mystery of Christmas: The Incarnation
The truth that the eternal Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us is at the very heart of the Christian faith and is the greatest mystery of the gospel.
Posted on December 12, 2018 by Matt Bedzyk
Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This unfathomable doctrine—the truth that the eternal Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)—is at the very heart of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6-7). God the Son emptied himself not of his deity but of his divine glory and dignity to be obedient unto death for our salvation; what a mystery of grace!
The Great Mystery
In his excellent book, Knowing God, author J. I. Packer calls the doctrine of the Incarnation the greatest mystery of the gospel. He explains: The real difficulty, the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us, . . . lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation. The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man—that the second person of the Godhead became the “second man” (1 Cor 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that he took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as he was human.
Here are two mysteries for the price of one—the plurality of persons within the unity of God [the doctrine of the Trinity], and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus [the doctrine of the Incarnation]. It is here, in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. “The Word became flesh” (Jn 1:14); God became man, the divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than he and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.
Think about it: if Jesus really was the God-man, if he really was both perfect God and perfect man, then it shouldn’t surprise us that his death was sufficient to atone for the sins of all his people, or that the immortal God should rise from the dead. Why? Because Jesus Christ was truly God! How could his blood not be of infinite value? How could the Author of Life not break free from the cords of death? This means that the greater mystery behind all of these wonderful truths is the mystery of his Incarnation. “The Incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains”
The Great Tragedy
Yet we often only consider this everlasting wonder deeply during a few weeks out of the year, about that time when Bing Crosby begins to dream about a snowy Christmas morning. We sing the great “Christmas” hymns of the faith in our churches each December, but once our holiday decorations come down, the awesome lyrics of Charles Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” are tragically put into storage with them. We sing and preach and emphasize Christ’s death and resurrection almost every Sunday, not just over Easter weekend, but when was the last time you sang “O Come O Come Emmanuel” or heard Luke 2:1-14 read in July?
As those who have come to know the gospel of God’s grace, we must never forget or fail to emphasize the birth of God the Son Incarnate. This doesn’t mean we have to sing “Joy to the World” every Sunday (though that actually may not be a bad idea), but if we neglect this doctrine, the results will be disastrous. To go wrong on the Incarnation is to go wrong on the person and work of Christ. And to go wrong on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is to lose the gospel of our salvation. Unless we believe that Jesus is the Christ—the Son of God and the Son of Man—we will die in our sins (John 8:24).
The Greatest Story
But praise God for his inexpressible gift! Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, reminded them of the reason for the Incarnation: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor.8:9). Packer concludes:
The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity— hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.
We talk glibly of the “Christmas spirit,” rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear that the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of him who for our sake became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round.
This Christmas, let this same mind be in us that was also in Christ Jesus, the Incarnate deity.
O God, who makest us glad by the yearly remembrance of
the birth of thy only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that as we
joyfully receive him for our Redeemer, so we may with sure
confidence behold him when he shall come to be our Judge;
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one
God, world without end. Amen.
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New Year's Eve at the Biggs' home |
FRIDAY DECEMBER 31 AT 7:00 PM
Ring in 2022 at the Biggs' home on New Year's Eve. Everyone is welcome!
30404 Pink Hill Road; Grain Valley
816-847-5472
BYOB and a finger food to share.
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The Mitten Tree is in the Narthex |
DONATIONS NEEDED
We are collecting warm hats, mittens/gloves and scarves for the CSL homeless programs.
Do you have some winter clothing you don’t use anymore? Consider donating to the Mitten Tree.
Your blessings will help keep others warm this winter.
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Potential COVID-19 exposure notice |
Anyone who attended church the last two Sundays may have been exposed to another parishioner who has tested positive for COVID-19.
If you develop COVID symptoms, please get a COVID test, contact your doctor and follow COVID precautions.
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Please complete your pledge |
PLEDGE ON-LINE BELOW
Although our annual stewardship campaign has officially ended, there are still several individuals and families who have not yet submitted their pledge for 2022.
Your support is vital for our ministry and to sustain the work of the Church of the Resurrection. No gift is too small.
EVERY PERFECT GIFT comes from God above!
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We need volunteers to serve Sundays |
LECTORS, ACOLYTES AND EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
If you would like to be a lector and/or eucharistic minister, please contact Diane Gerlach at 816-896-2875.
Please contact Lisa Twitty at 913-485-7150 If you would like to serve as an acolyte.
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Collecting clothing for Afghan refugees |
PLEASE BRING TO CHURCH
Kansas City will be welcoming approximately 550 Afghan refugees in the coming months. St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, 16808 Holmes Road, Belton, MO is partnering with KC for Refugees to distribute contributions of winter clothing to refugees.
Please no more household items. Bring your contributions to church and we will make sure they are delivered to St. Mary Magdalene for distribution.
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Remember to wear your name tag |
HELP US WELCOME VISITORS
Help us remember who you are and make it easier for folks to identify you! Please wear your name tags, located next to the hallway windows in the narthex.
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Last call for Vestry nominations |
SEEKING CANDIDATES
Anyone interested in serving on the Vestry should contact a member of the Vestry nomination committee (Les Woodward, Jim Gilligan, Bill Carle or John Biggs) before the end of the year.
The Vestry is the board of directors for the parish and is comprised of lay people who represent the parish as a whole in decision making, planning and communication. If you have questions, please talk with any current Vestry member or Fr. David.
A CANDIDATE FOR VESTRY MUST:
• Be an adult, confirmed communicant in good standing.
• Be at least 16 years of age.
• Be faithful in monthly worship (three communions, unless for good cause prevented.)
• Be faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God.
• Be known to the treasurer (contributing financially each year.)
• Been confirmed by the Bishop or received into the church after having been confirmed in another denomination.
• Persons from the same immediate family, defined as spouses, parents, children and siblings, shall not serve together on the Vestry. Spouses of Resurrection’s clergy and staff are not eligible to serve on the Vestry.
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Bible Study every Wednesday at 1:00 pm |
STUDYING THE BOOK OF EXODUS
Please join us every Wednesday afternoon for Bible Study from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.
Our current focus is the book of Exodus and we'll soon be moving on to the book of Leviticus.
THERE WILL BE NO BIBLE STUDY FROM THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS UNTIL THE WEDNESDAY AFTER NEW YEARS.
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