Sunday Homily, December 16, 2018, 3rd Advent
Welcome, Everyone. This is part of the group of volunteers who took part in the Single Parents' Advocacy Christmas Party, Saturday at Lewisville H.S.
Preparing lunch with Bill, Connie, & Cheryl, Single Parent Advocacy, Christmas picnic, Lewisville H.S. 12 of our community volunteered.
Readings: (happy ones…)
Zephaniah 3, 14-18, Be glad and rejoice with all your heart
(Psalm) Isaiah, Cry out with joy and gladness, for among you is the great and holy one of Israel.
Philippians 4, 4-7, Rejoice in the Lord always.
Luke 3, 10-18, I am baptizing you with water…
An old pro lighting our candles today. Welcome home, Cole, so good to see you
Homily by Mike
During this past week, I spent some time remembering a story about the Fulghum family: Dad, Mom, and their three children, two of which were in Middle School. Each morning, Dad and the three children left home carrying their lunches in brown paper bags. Molly who was now in first grade enjoyed helping her mom make the sandwiches. Daddy always got the biggest one.
As always, Buddy, good reading of our Blessing of the Candles. Thanks.
On this particular day, Dad had two brown paper bags waiting for him. One wasn’t at all that big or brown, and there was a lot of tape holding it together, but he took it with him all the same, when Molly told her Daddy that she had added it for his enjoyment. Daddy smiled, but was in a hurry that day, as he placed both in his brief case.
The Best Music with Shonda & David. Sorry you could not make it, Ben, & that you get better soon.
When he had finally made time for lunch, he hurriedly opened-up his usual brown bag. As he was eating, however, he took time to open the other bag that Molly had given him. He smiled at the stuff that slid out of it when he had taken off its close-pin. Three small shells, nineteen pennies, one green and blue marble, two animal crackers, two chocolate kisses, a small red, rubber ball and a few jacks, an empty lip stick, a really small plastic dinosaur, and a couple of colored rubber bands, probably for her hair.
Thanks for a nice Christmas Story, Mike.
And, he was thinking, “What am I going to do with all of this stuff, as he was already late for a meeting. So, all got discarded in haste, with the paper napkin that he brushed across his desk top.
Thanks, Connie, for telling us about the party sponsored by the Single Parents Advocacy.
That night after supper, Molly, smiling, asked her dad, who was reading the paper, “Where is my bag, Daddy. Behind the paper he sat stunned, his eyes got big, and he didn’t know what to say. Molly said, “You didn’t bring it home? You didn’t loose it did you? Those are my favorite things, Daddy.”
But Daddy is already thinking about calling the janitor at work. Finally he said, “I’ll bring it home tomorrow, I promise. And he could see the sadness in his little girl’s eyes. After her bed time he heads back to the office. The Janitor says, “you loose something?” After a short explanation, together, they located the desired trash bag, and thankfully it contained Molly’s items.
And more lunch with three of our Bona Responds brown T shirts at work.
After gathering them and returning them to her beat-up sack, he sat there for a while looking again at what had now become treasures to him. He remembered the shells that she had gathered at the beach last summer. He remembered the chocolate kisses that he had left under her pillow one night. He remembered teaching her how to play “Jacks.” He remembered when she had found the green and blue marble in a parking lot. In the morning during breakfast he gave her a long sweet hug and kissed her on her forehead, informing her, this time with gusto, that he would bring her sack home with him that evening, for he had purposely left it on his desk at work.
Shonda doing what she does best, getting the kids and everybody to sing and even dance.
Think about it. Everyone else in the family could have given him
a gift from their abundance; but she had given him everything that was dear to her; they all were given from her heart. My suggestion to us is this.
Shonda in her element.
We should take time this coming week to enjoy our grand children’s gifts of Christmas pictures, and ornaments, and clay sheep and shepherds, and especially the one of the little child in the manger. Let them bring to us the realization that Christmas, God’s gift to us, should be and can be celebrated every day in the little gifts of love, precious jewels, that often, and sadly, sometimes overlooked.