By Bishop Christian Alsted, Connectional Table Chair
Just outside my office the social ministry of the United Methodist Church is gearing up for Christmas. For more than one hundred years, people with few resources have been offered a helping hand throughout the year. Some are homeless, some have lost their way in life, some suffer from mental illnesses, some are single parents on welfare, some are refugees or migrants, and some are simply lonely.
The staff and the many volunteers in this ministry share Christ’s love by offering everything from healthy meals to food packages for Christmas, counseling, clothes, shelter and a summer holiday at the beach. The program over Christmas is extensive with parties, concerts and more.
The social ministry here in Copenhagen is by no means unique – in many of our churches throughout the Nordic and Baltic countries like in Vasa, Solrød, Panevesyz, Kaunas, Liepa, Haugesund, Riga or Helsinki, similar ministry is taking place, and the same is true in United Methodist Churches across the world. And while we certainly intensify our efforts around Christmas, we are very much aware that the needs exist every day of the year.
It is deeply-rooted in my culture that we want people to be well, to be safe and to experience peace at Christmas. We have been shaped by the Christmas message of hope and joy for centuries, and though many people have turned their back on Christianity, this has stayed with us. And so, these few weeks every year we think and act just a little differently, and many people feel motivated to share love and goodness even with people they do not know.
Nowadays, secular commercial interests dictate that Christmas begins early and ends around December 26, when the gifts are opened and the last Christmas party is over. In Church, Christmas begins on December 24 and it really never ends.
The birth of Jesus is the beginning of a new era in God’s great story of salvation. God is declaring a new thing. He is the shining light driving darkness away. He is God eternally present in the world, loving his creation back into communion with Him. He is good news and great joy.
You see….
A child is born to us, a son is given to us,
And authority will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful counselor, mighty God,
Eternal father, prince of peace.
- Isaiah 9:5
This makes a difference. No matter what our future prospects may be, and there are certainly those who predict they may be pretty dark, we are called to embody this new era, just like the United Methodist social ministry outside the doors to my office is doing every day. God's mission is yet alive, and, may I add, alive and well.
I wish you a hope-filled, joyful and peaceful Advent Season!