Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas Newsletter

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in the Netherlands

Thanksgiving. The Oxford Dictionary defines this word as the expression of gratitude, especially to God…or as an annual national holiday in North America marked by religious observances and a traditional meal. In many ways, the second definition symbolises the first definition. It is a meal of thanksgiving…of gratitude. It began with a need…hunger and famine and starvation…and became an expression of abundant blessing. There is another meal that began with a need…a spiritual hunger and famine and starvation…that became an expression of abundant blessing too. This is, of course, the Eucharist…the Great Thanksgiving…the Lord’s Supper…the Sacrament of Holy Communion…all words indicating a meal that celebrates our wondrous unity with Jesus by means of his self-sacrifice on our behalf. Every time we gather to share in the symbols of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood, we give thanks. But there is another meal…an ominous meal that made this Sacrament necessary. A meal that is the exact opposite of that represented in the Eucharist. It is a meal that began with abundance, that took place in the Garden of Eden, where the host was not God, but the serpent…where the participation was not in thankful obedience to a holy command, but in thankless disobedience birthed in ingratitude and lust for independence. It is a meal of absence rather than presence…isolation rather than intimacy…individuality rather than interdependence…secular rather than sacred. This is the meal that is celebrated most in Europe. A meal that creates a restless search for meaning and purpose…a search that invariably continues endlessly without achieving any form of lasting satisfaction or contentment. As continual excessive salt intake produces an unquenchable thirst, this prideful attempt at self-realisation leads to need, famine, and starvation…and, indeed, to the opposite of thanksgiving. More and more and more never seems to fill the void…because it cannot. Looking at the rising number of strikes, riots, demonstrations, and right-wing political resentment one cannot help but wonder if this is not the new “Winter of Discontent”. The greedy and the needy are once more at a standoff. Not very different from the time when Jesus lived among us. This is why the Christmas message is as important now as it was then. Our beleaguered and polarised planet cries out for deliverance…but deliverance does not come through violence or war…if history teaches us anything it is that strife and struggle produces nothing but more strife and struggle. No, deliverance comes through not wanting more but wanting less.  Deliverance comes through sacrifice. The first meal recorded in Scripture did not bring happiness…the desire to be “gods” brings chaos and calamity as it is not in sync with our design. Lust does not lead to love. Christmas is also the time when people are generally quite open to hearing the Gospel. “Tradition” will often attract those who sense a need for something more than temporal. So, during this Advent and Christmas season at Christ Church, Heiloo, we plan to host several events that may hopefully serve to stir an ancient memory of a time when God and his Creation lived in harmony. Please do pray that those who attend will, like the Bethlehem Shepherds, be filled with awe and amazement and a desire to go and tell others about Jesus. But to return to the theme of thanksgiving. Louise and I are so thankful for everyone who partners with us in making Jesus known. It is your sacrificial giving and your unceasing prayers that make it possible for us to tell his story to those who have largely forgotten him. The other day, we saw a sign outside an old church building that now serves as a cultural centre that invited passers-by to come in to meet a “spiritual guide” who would tell them all they needed to know about the future. There is a fear here…a very real fear…too many around us have access to weapons of mass destruction. Please continue to help us lead the bewildered and the frightened to the only one who holds their future in his hands. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you celebrate the Reason for the Season. May our gracious King grant you peace and contentment throughout this Advent and Christmas Season. Love, cyber-hugs, and blessings Johann and Louise Support Us Johann and Louise spent two years helping to develop the St. Frumentius Seminary in Gambella, Ethiopia. They then worked in Southern Africa, serving in seven southern African countries, while continuing to work with the Diocese of Egypt, North Africa through engaging in a disciple making movement in order to grow the body of Christ. They are now serving in Heiloo, the Netherlands. We are sent  through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, a missionary sending community, engaging in building relationships with the worldwide church to experience the broken restored, the wounded healed, the hungry fed, and the lost found through the love and power of Jesus Christ.  Support SAMS

Copyright © 2016 Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, All rights reserved. www.sams-usa.org      Our mailing address is: PO Box 399 Ambridge PA 15003 Attention to: Johann and Louise van der Bijl Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list