Blue Feelings….Blue Christmas

Our worship today is intended to be a time when we can, with others, acknowledge the “blue” feelings we may have in the holiday season.  For many who have lost a loved one, this can be a very painful time.  For others it is an especially lonely time of year.  We gather in anticipation and hope of the light of our Lord Jesus Christ that has come, will come again and we pray will come and bring us comfort and healing today.

Our loved ones memories, their names and faces are present in our hearts this morning as we gather here.  We remember them, we remember what the holiday season used to be like when they were alive, and we know what this season feels like now that they are gone: pain, sadness, loneliness, regret, guilt, anger….  Blue feelings are like deadly weapons sometimes but we need to acknowledge them as part of our broken life.  We cannot let them steal our chance to celebrate the birth of Christ, our new hope and life, we learn to embrace them, offer them to God of all strength and consolation.

We pray that you may you find comfort and peace in Jesus the Christ who has come, will come again and promises to come to us now.  May you be sustained and strengthened for the days ahead and may your sadness be touched by hope as we proclaim the birth of the Child of Bethlehem.  Christ was born for peace, Christ was born for you.