Prop: A noisemaker for each child, or each person in the congregation. You may want to wait until the end of the story to pass these out.
I have celebrated New Year’s Eve in many different ways
throughout my life. (Share your variety of celebrations.)
·
Ocean-front condo at the Jersey shore with
long-time friends
o
Dinner
o
Toast at midnight
·
Watched the ball drop, in Times Square with over
a million others
·
Fell asleep by 10pm
·
Favorite—at Gram’s house with family
o
Gram gave all 12 grandchildren and their parents
cooking pots, and spoons
o
At midnight, all went out into the front yard,
banging our pots with the spoons and shouting “Happy New Year!” at the top of
our lungs
You may be wondering why I’m talking about New Year’s Eve
when it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. For
the Church, today IS New Year’s Eve! As
a community of faith, we begin what is called the liturgical year with
Advent—the four Sundays before Christmas.
Next week, November 28, is the First Sunday in Advent, and the start of a
brand, new liturgical year. We will
begin the year anticipating—getting ready—for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Through the liturgical year, we will follow
the life of Jesus, his death and resurrection, the start-up of the Church and
all the wonderful blessings that this means for the world.
The whole story culminates on this New Year’s Eve, which we
call Christ the King Sunday. On this
day, today, we remember that Jesus is not only an amazing teacher, a kind and
compassionate healer, one who gave his life for the world, including us, but also that he is our
King. He is the king of Kings! He is ruler of God’s Kingdom and the ruler of
all Christian hearts. For this we are
thankful, and we celebrate on this New Year’s Eve.
So grab your noisemaker and join me in wishing one another a
“Happy New Year!”
