Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 4-7
Here is a story from the early days of the church. Paul, an apostle or follower of Jesus, preached and taught the gospel of Christ to the early Christian community at Philippi, in northern Greece near the head of the Aegean Sea. Paul visited the city several times, probably between AD 49-57 and wrote a letter to the people of Philippi about 10 years after his first visit. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul affirms that God does not let us go. Paul has seen God’s entry into the world, and he wants the Philippians to see and to sense that story as well. This is the Advent story he shares with them and with us.
“How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.
As God imparts to human hearts, the blessings of His heaven.”
