Where Is the King?
I like learning new things about different cultures and traditions. I had one such experience last week. One of the families who take part in our youth activities shared with us a tradition from Mexico called Rosca de Reyes or as we would say in English, Kings Cake. For those of you who aren't familiar with this tradition and right now have a picture in your mind of something that looks like a birthday cake from the bakery section at HEB ... let me tell you, you've got the wrong impression. This Kings Cake is huge. It's baked in a large oval shape and it's decorated with candied fruit and pastry and it is very delicious. And as impressive as it is on the outside there is something on the inside, something that you don't see that is equally interesting.
Part of the tradition of the Kings Cake is to bake into the dough a small plastic replica of the Baby Jesus. Each person cuts a slice of the Kings Cake and whoever finds the Baby Jesus has the "privilege" of bringing tamales for a meal the following month. This all coincides with Epiphany, the celebration of the coming of the Wise Men from the East, the men who followed the star in order to find the Messiah. Back then those men asked the question, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? We have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" - Matthew 2:2.
Back then those men were mighty anxious to find Jesus. They wanted to see the Son of God and to worship Him. At the same time, King Herod was hearing about the same prophesies and, unlike the Wise Men, he wasn't too happy about the prospect of having another King born in his land. He used trickery and violence to try and stop Jesus from coming into the world. Two thousand years later, as I was getting ready to cut into that Kings Cake, as much as I love Jesus and long to see Him face to face ... I wasn't too anxious about finding a plastic replica of Him in a slice of that cake. Simply put, I didn't want to be the one who had to bring the tamales.
Looking back to last week and even farther back to a couple of thousand years ago, I can't help thinking that as much time as has gone by things haven't changed all that much. The world is still made of up of basically three types of people. There are those, who like the Wise Men, put a lot of time, energy and effort into experiencing Jesus Christ. They are the ones who are truly blessed because they get to experience Him in a very close and personal way. Then there are those, who like Herod, wish to wipe away the very name of Jesus Christ from the face of this earth. They can't stand the idea of Someone who is bigger and more powerful and ultimately the ruler of them and everyone else. They are a sad lot indeed for they are fighting against the very power of God and will never succeed. And finally, there are those who are like me, at least when it comes to the way I nervously sliced into that Kings Cake, they are the ones who put some effort into seeking the unknown ... knowing by faith that Jesus is near, yet they secretly hope they never really find Him or experience Him up close and personally because that will surely cost them something. Their lives will be changed, their plans will be altered and they'll be called upon to make some sort of investment and that means their lives will be different from that time onward.
Today my friends ask yourself the question, to which group do I belong? I know there isn't a single Herodian among us. We've all made that decision to follow Jesus. The question is; are we seeking Him and following Him with a passion and a purpose like the Wise Men did, or are we hesitating to take our own slice of Kings Cake?
By the way, in case you're wondering, my slice of cake didn't have the plastic doll in it ......... but my son Isaac's did! So I'm going to be doing some tamale shopping next month.
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Fifty plus bus trip
On Tuesday, January 24 at 8:45 am, the St. John Lutheran Roadrunners and the Christ United Tagalongs will be boarding the bus at St. John's parking lot for our 2012 Faith Tour of local churches. We begin with St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church (aka Tiosavlhenic Dejan). Next stop will be St. Anthony Orthodox Christian Church. Afterward, we will have lunch somewhere in the area yet to be determined. In the afternoon, we will be visiting Immanuel United Church of Christ. We will return to St. John to end the trip.
All senior members of the congregation (50+) and guests are invited and encouraged to participate in these activities. We would like to fill the bus. If you have any questions, please contact Walt Foreman, Sarah Leander, or Linda Edwards.
Adopt -A-Senior CAM program 2012
We started this program through CAM last year to help some Cypress Area seniors who have needs that are not covered by other sources. The need for this type of help in our immediate community continues. Therefore, we will continue the program for another year starting in February with some slight changes.
This year we will ask at least 2 people to adopt one senior citizen. In this way more people in the congregation will be able to participate in this worthwhile program, helping those here in Cypress and the strain is not as great on each person.
There will be a sign up sheet on the bulletin board if you are interested in participating in the program. We will then have a short meeting at the end of January where I will hand out requests from the seniors and you will be paired with another person in sponsoring an individual. In addition we will answer any questions you may have and let you talk with someone who participated in the program last year. If you want to find out more about the program before you make a commitment, this will be the time to do that as well.
The type of items requested during the year include coffee, cereal, soup, canned meat, microwave food items, sugar-free items, etc. Some of the requests are more extensive than others but not all the items need to be purchased each month.
I hope you will want to participate in this program of helping our elderly neighbors in need.
Sincerely,
Carole Beavers, Mission Chair
This Sunday or worship celebration will include a Scripture lesson from James 4:1-17. We'll talk about how quickly making a decision to serve Christ is never a hasty decision at all.
Don't forget - Youth Rally, Friday beginning at 6:30 PM! Everyone is invited.
See you on Sunday if not sooner.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Darrin
