Dear PPPC,

We’ve almost made it to the end of the year! Next Sunday, November 26th is Christ the King Sunday, also known as Reign of Christ Sunday. It falls at the conclusion of the Christian liturgical year, that the church might give thanks and praise for the sovereignty of Christ, who is Lord of all creation and who is coming again in glory to reign (Revelation 1:4-8). Next Sunday will propel us toward the threshold of Advent, the season of hope for Christ’s coming arrival.

Before we move into the season of Advent, a season of waiting and longing, we give thanks. We give thanks that nothing in life or death can ever separate us from the love of God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We give thanks for abundant grace which reminds us that we are more than what we do, more than what we have, more that our worst moment, more than our best moment, more than what others think and say about us; we are beloved of children of God.

What a way to conclude the year, by giving thanks! The Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is not only one of sheer encouragement, but prevalent throughout the letter is the theme of thanksgiving, both as grace and gratitude. Paul sometimes used the exact same word for grace and for gratitude. If the action is from God to us, the translators render it grace; if from us to God, gratitude! Paul testifies to what the heart already knows: Giving and receiving are really so much alike, one word can define both.

Yours for the journey,
Pastor Molly