Dear SCF Family, There is a song we used to sing in my previous congregation called, “The Goodness of God.” The lyrics of the chorus are: “All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.” Quickly becoming one of my favorite songs of worship, images of my life, mostly people I love or who have loved me, would scroll by in my head as we sang this song together and I’d be overwhelmed with the feeling that God really has been, is and always will be present in our lives.
One Sunday, as people gathered their belongings, heading to the exit, the worship team sang the last few verses of this song to wrap up the service. I noticed someone standing at the front of the pews, watching and silently singing along. When the band finished up, I approached this person to see if something was needed. “I never heard this song before I came to this church,” they said. “It’s quickly become my favorite. Every time I hear it, my whole life just flashes before me. It’s my life. And I’ve looked it up online. I know I can listen to it there but there’s something about singing it with the whole congregation, listening to those around me singing too.”
“Me too.” I replied. Me too.
This advent season, our theme is “Words for the Beginning, Advent Reminders for New Seasons.” Advent is this mix of endings and beginnings, where the calendar year wraps up and a new church year begins. Christ’s birth ushers in new ways of living and loving, the world doesn’t pause for us to catch our breath—it just spins madly on.
In many ways, pregnant Mary was surrounded by endings – large and small, personal and political. Yet she clung to hope in a God who makes all things new. Christ’s birth offered a fresh start for shepherds and Magi alike, even as King Herod tried to snuff out His story before it began. As we navigate seasons full of endings and beginnings, we crave reminders, words that feel like solid ground beneath our feet as we step into the unknown. We need to hear again that “All my life you have been faithful. All my life you have been so, so good.”
And when endings seem overwhelming, we are promised that God is for us and with us. God knows our pain because, as Nadia Bolz-Weber wrote, “In Jesus, God slipped into the vulnerability of skin” and has experienced the raw beauty and ache of being human, walking with us through every ending and into every new beginning.”.
This Advent season, let us embrace the joy and pain, the beginnings and endings, the hope for a future and the loss of a past, that define our humanity. Let us be present in the moments of celebration and acknowledge the moments of sorrow. May the weary world rejoice not only in the promise of a baby but also as we find the courage to celebrate, to grieve, and to hope, for it is in this dance that we discover the goodness of God.
May this poem written by Donna Ashworth leave you with some joy:
Joy does not arrive with a fanfare on a red carpet strewn with the flowers of a perfect life
joy sneaks in as you pour a cup of coffee watching the sun hit your favorite tree just right
and you usher joy away because you are not ready for her your house is not as it should be
for such a distinguished guest
but joy, you see cares nothing for your messy home or your bank balance or your waistline
joy is supposed to slither through the cracks of your imperfect life that’s how joy works
you cannot truly invite her you can only be ready when she appears and hug her with meaning because in this very moment joy chose you.
May you know God’s goodness during this season,
Pastor Kally