Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
The ramblings coming for the next four weeks are not so random. Our Advent theme at Augustana is "Prepare the Royal Highway". We are singing a verse from this hymn and hearing a narrative that juxtaposes the royalty of the verse with the story of of Christ's birth. This reflection was written by me, but the next two weeks will have a reflection written by a parishioner of the congregation. Enjoy!
Prepare the Royal Highway v. 1: Prepare the royal highway; The King of kings is near! Let ev’ry hill and valley A level road appear! Then greet the King of Glory Foretold in sacred story: (Refrain) Hosanna to the Lord, For He fulfills God’s Word! "Prepare yourselves for the coming Lord! The King of Kings is near! Like any king, this coming Jesus needs to be taken care of. We need to pull out all the stops. Surely his parents will be welcomed too as we prepare the Royal Highway for the birth of Christ. But that’s not what happened is it? Joseph and Mary weren’t welcomed at all. Instead, they were sent away from home. By decree of the current king, Emperor Augustus, Joseph and Mary were forced from their home in Nazareth and told they must go to Joseph’s home town, Bethlehem. Jesus was sent with them rather than being welcomed because he was still in his mother’s womb. Surely this cannot be the king of kings if he is sent rather than welcomed. I guess we will have to wait and see." - Pr. Reed Lee Pedersen Pondering Points:
1 Comment
Sally Rehn
12/7/2017 11:27:44 am
I would have to travel 2000 miles to my birthplace of Spokane, WA.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
|