Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Over the years, I’ve had people tell me they don’t really like the Christmas season for they find it too stressful. And I understand. It’s true that with all the planning, the shopping and decorating, baking and cooking, etc. the Christmas season can become quite stressful. There is the build up to that one day filled with, unfortunately, often unmet expectations. And there is the juggling of already busy schedules as we try to get everything done. Thus, I’m not surprised when I hear people complain about the stress of Christmas.  I fully understand. In spite of the fact that I really do love the excitement of Christmas—the  glow of the Christmas tree in our living room, the houses decorated in lights, Kim’s cookies and breads, the exchanging of gifts and the pouring out of the stockings, just to name a few things—I can get really stressed out by Christmas.  After all, I’m juggling the preparations for both our home and for the church at the same time. I’m thinking about ...

The changeover has taken place! It’s no longer about the big turkey dinner, decorations of  orange and brown, and cornucopia centerpieces. Now it’s about lights and trees, red and green, the gifts and cards, poinsettias, wreaths and carols. Thanksgiving has given way to Christmas!  If you ask me, it happened so fast. The day after Thanksgiving the ornaments were being set on the tree in the corner of our living room—and on the small one in our family room that is just for the grandchildren. A couple of days later the lights were on display in front of the house and the wreath put on the door. Before you knew it, our home had been fully given over to Christmas.  No more Thanksgiving decorations…it’s time for Christmas!  If you think about it, that’s the way it has always been with Christmas. After all, on the night Jesus was born a new period of time was inaugurated. History was divided. The old era was gone and a new one had come. For with the birth of Jesus, God’s g...

As I mentioned in an earlier Pastor’s Devotion, back in early October Kim and I visited the Greek island from which my grandparents had come, the island of Lesvos. While there we visited an organic olive grove and olive oil factory. It was a great experience—in spite of all the walking and climbing we had to do among the olive trees. We learned a lot about olive trees, the cultivation of olives, and the production of olive oil. One thing we learned is that, it takes about 40 years for an olive tree to produce enough olives for harvesting. That’s a lot of time. (There is a saying: “One plants grapes for themselves, but olives for their children and grandchildren!”).  As we drove around Lesvos, everywhere we turned there were olive trees. We were told that the southern part of the island alone had 12 million of them! That’s a lot of olives trees! And that’s a lot of olives! It’s no wonder one of the things Lesvos is known for is its olives and olive oil. (The other is ouzo—but that’s...

This week here in New Jersey, water restrictions were put into place due to drought conditions. Although we’ve enjoyed some terrific weather, the continually blue skies have meant a lack of rain. September 2024 was the third driest September on record, followed by an October that had record low rainfall not just for the month of October, but a record low for any month. And thus far the November has not been any better—just a tenth of an inch.  I realize that we are not the only ones facing a lack of rain. And ours is not nearly as severe as it has been in other parts of the world (and hopefully will not be). When Kim and I were on the island of Lesvos, Greece at the beginning of October, we were told their last rainfall had been April 10. And they still have not received any substantial rain. Parts of South America (e.g. the Amazon rainforest in Brazil) and southern Africa have faced long-term droughts. Some places have been devastated by a lack of rain. I think we’d all agree, we ...

Have you ever worried? I know you have. We all worry about the stuff of life, at times even falling into full-blown anxiety. It’s a very human response when we feel as if the future is uncertain and may even hold for us the possibility of negative circumstances. The more I talk to people today the more I realize that worry and anxiety have become the order of the day.  People are worried about the economy, wars that are taking place around the world, climate change, and the politics of the day. On a more personal level, people are worried about their jobs, the well-being of their children, relationships that seem to be falling apart, whether or not they’ll have enough for retirement, and so much more. If our candidate didn’t get elected, we worry. If our son or daughter is struggling in school, we worry. If our workplace announces layoffs, we worry. When we hear about the bomb that was dropped, we worry. When the doctor gives us a bad report, we worry.  And we do so with good ...

On our recent trip to Greece, and specifically to the island of Lesvos, Kim and found a pottery shop filled with beautiful handcrafted pottery. Inside was an older man setting up for the day with whom I began to speak in my very minimal Greek. I told him that my grandparents were from the island and from the town that his shop was in, Mantamados. After a bit, he brought some pieces out to show us, and when I picked one up I realized it was yet warm. It was right out of his kiln. He then signaled for me to follow him into his workroom, showing me the kiln from which the items had just come. What I found out next astounded me: he was a fifth generation potter.  I couldn’t imagine that his trade had been passed down to him through so many generations. That meant that his craft of making pottery had begun with his great-great grandfather—which may go back as far as the late 1700’s. To me that’s astounding! To think that somewhere along the line there was a father who taught his son the...