FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As this newsletter covers December and January, and I am writing in late November, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, a Holy Advent, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. More than wishes, I pray you are centered in Christ Jesus straight through this season of much. Much. Funny word, don't you think? Much of this, much of that. And goodness, so much to do! And we cannot speak about doing much without bringing up plans. How about your plans? I'll bet you're planned up to your ears for the next five weeks. Family, feasting, friends, finances, football, furious-dog-eat-dog shopping, festooned worship are all objects of our planning. And if you haven't filled your calendar to overflowing with these and other things, then chances are very good that someone else has over-filled it for you. Amidst all our plans, have you considered that God has a plan? That is the question. Blame Isaiah. Mid-month I began reading the prophet and I've been wrestling ever since with what I am sure God is saying: "I have the plan. Trust me. Obey me. Worship me. Fear me. Prefer me. I will always take care of you. I am the plan." (Some of you began reading Isaiah too. Have any of these thoughts struck you as they have me?) God's plan, announced by the prophet, is an astounding plan of grace and glory. Sounds good, right? Yes it is good, indeed the plan that defines good. But the truth is sinners have a way of preferring and making much ado of themselves and not God. As I read Isaiah each day, I see clearly that God's plan doesn't change in the face of disinterested, rebellious people. And as it plays out in Isaiah, these aren't just any people, but God's own people, Israel. The prophet describes Israel like a vineyard. She is the Lord God's beloved vineyard, tenderly planted on a fertile hill by his own hand. "He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes" (Isaiah 5:2). Here is a picture of a loving, faithful God whose chosen people, created for blessing and uniquely called to bring the nations God's glory, are bent and bound by self-preference. I'm sure God's chosen people were plenty busy. Calendars crammed, they were moving through their lives in ways that seemed best to them. But God's plan remained. What did the Lord God do with his people? He judged them severely. Just as the prophet foretold, faithless, divided Israel was utterly crushed by her enemies and carried off into exile. When God was finished with them, all that was left of the vineyard (if I may conflate the metaphors of chapters six and seven) was a single stump. The stump, or a remnant of God's chosen people, was all that survived the wrath of Israel's God. I pray that the reality of what God has done for us in Christ amazes you more than anything else on offer in this season of much. God's purpose for sinners is grace. That is the best kind of news for Israel and you and me. Amidst Israel's worst disobedience and utter failure to trust the Lord their God, we hear the prophet exhorting them: "O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD" (Isaiah 2:5). That call now comes to you and me. If we find ourselves enamoured with the world and ourselves, preferring our plans to God's, then it is time to fall on our faces and return to Jesus. The words of the prophet are still true for us: "...they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them" (Isaiah 19:22). Grace and peace to you, dear ones of Saint Paul's. Be amazed at the Word made Flesh this holy season and daily trust in God for the plan. Yours in Christ, Peter+

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