Pastor: Christmas shows God’s nature

Staff Report
With Christmas approaching, an area pastor says the season is a reflection of God’s giving ways.
“God is the ultimate giver. That’s his nature,” the Rev. Marty Harden of Bethel Pentecostal Church in Patterson said. The Christmas season is the reflection of God’s nature as a giver who gives the greatest gift, Harden said. “It started with life in Christ and the truth of his word, and he continues to give to those who believe in him for our own existence and, truthfully, for all of eternity,” Harden said.
Christmas is just a foretaste of what Harden believes heaven is going to be like forever, he said. Christmas is more than just a season, it’s a lifestyle, Harden said. “I think that’s the whole point of Christianity. He (God) wants us to live like this all the time, not be giving just during the Christmas season but be a giving people all the time,” Harden said.
“The Bible says it’s more blessed to give than to receive. And so, obviously, he’s trying to teach us not to live self-centered lives but to live self-giving lives,” he said.
Bethel Pentecostal will hold a family communion service from 7 to 8 p.m. today, Harden said.
In his Christmas message, Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese said, “As we recall and again make this Christmas journey with Mary and Joseph to bring the Christ child to the world, let us always remember that we also travel this journey with one another. The season of Christmas inspires us to be faithful to the task of bringing Jesus Christ to others by way of our words and actions. May the child born at Bethlehem inspire us to be faithful in our discipleship! I ask God’s blessings upon all in our community on Christmas Day, throughout the Christmas season and every day of the coming New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
In an article written by Kathleen Toups on the Diocese of Lafayette’s website, Bishop Michael Jarrell reminded Cathedral parishioners in Lafayette that Mary was blessed because she carried the Word of God, but Christ in his teaching emphasized also “blessed are they who hear the word of God and observe it.” The Gospel (Luke l:26-38) recalled Mary receiving the message of the angel that “she was to be the mother of Jesus who will be called the Son of God.”
“There is a bit of tension in this dramatic moment,” Jarrell noted, “as the angel awaits the answer of Mary. She has three options. She can refuse or make another plea, but as St. Bernard says in one of his sermons, ‘answer quickly, O virgin, reply in haste to the angel. Answer with a word, receive the word of God, speak your own word, conceive the Divine Word, embrace the Eternal Word,’” the article said.
The bishop continued, “Mary replies ‘behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.’ She qualifies for the blessing because she was willing to hear the word of God and observe it. “The word of God comes to us in many ways,” Jarrell pointed out. “With Mary it was in the appearance of an angel. Not many of us can have such an experience,” Jarrell said.
Jarrell then read a letter he had received, unsigned, with no return address, the article said. The letter praised the efforts and devotion of his pastor who apparently had preached a sermon, wondering whether his efforts had made a difference in the lives of parishioners. The anonymous writer said he had become a daily communicant and his wife had returned to the sacraments, according to the article.
“It was a word of blessing, an affirmation for this priest as he went about his daily ministry. Sometimes the word of God is a blessing, or a message of hope, sometimes a challenge, an invitation to conversion,” the bishop emphasized. “Sometimes it is an invitation to do good; sometimes a feeling of gratitude for God’s goodness. In all of these, the word of God comes to us, and we, like Mary, are handmaids of the Lord,” Jarrell said in the article.
It was also noted that Jarrell has observed his 12th anniversary as Bishop of Lafayette and the congregation prayed for his continued leadership of the diocese, the article said.