{"id":713,"date":"2024-01-04T14:08:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T21:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/?p=713"},"modified":"2024-01-04T14:13:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T21:13:57","slug":"713","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"Homily December 31 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Homily sharing for December 31, 2023. <\/strong>1st<\/sup> Sunday After Christmas, by Connie Aurand<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>I offer these words of sharing this morning from my heart.\u00a0 They are part of my personal story and walk with Christ, and thus not the typical homily one might hear on the 1st<\/sup> Sunday after Christmas.\u00a0 Please open your hearts, mind and ears and share with me this offering, a part of my personal present journey.<\/p>\n

I begin this story with some background.\u00a0 28 years ago on December 28th<\/sup>, 1995, our family was changed forever along with many in our communities, and I would offer in the Puget Sound area.\u00a0 Our son, Trevor 16 years of age at that time on an annual Christmas celebration in Seattle with former Boy Scout staff members from Camp Parson, was murdered on Aurora Avenue in a drive-by shooting.\u00a0 All of the details from that night would make up twenty TV or movie scripts and basis for books.\u00a0 There were many angels that responded to that horrific tragedy, none more important than the four other Boy Scouts who had to respond to the immediate emergency.\u00a0 However, within a few minutes, they were surrounded by other angels–the Seattle patrol police officers, detectives and paramedics who went into action.<\/p>\n

Trevor died at Harborview before Jim and I could arrive surrounded once more by God\u2019s precious angels\u2014nurses, ER physicians, medical techs, neurosurgeons, social workers and our beloved priest friend who rushed to be at the side of Trevor and us.\u00a0 We surrounded Trevor that night with prayer being offered over him as we surrounded his hospital bed.\u00a0 What I want to offer here is the precious gift of light \u2013of Christ\u2019 light in the service by all the first responders, his fellow Eagle Scouts, and Harborview medical team–of how our son, Trevor, was never alone but surrounded by the Light.\u00a0 As I said there are many stories that have been shared and lived since that tragic day.\u00a0 Over the years, there have been several law enforcement people who stopped by our house who knew of Trevor\u2019s story, and thus ours.\u00a0 These individuals serve as angel protectors for all of us, leaving their families working sometimes long shifts, even at night.\u00a0 Please remember the police and our paramedics in your daily prayers.\u00a0 Now, we move to the present.<\/p>\n

Recently, our seven-year old grandson, Grayson, out of the blue, pronounced to his mother, Amanda, police officers have to work at night in the dark away from their families for long periods of time.\u00a0 They are by themselves and are in dangerous situations wanting to help others. \u201cThey don\u2019t get to go home at night during Christmas.\u201d \u201cI think we should take them some cookies as a thank you especially with it being close to Christmas.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Well, Grayson was emphatic that the gift go to the police officers.\u00a0 Amanda listened and took Grayson\u2019s request very seriously and followed up in action.\u00a0 In a few minutes of time Grayson put together a platter of homemade cookies and candies to be taken to the local police station in Poulsbo as a gift of gratitude and unconditional love and thanks for their service, sometimes in the \u201cdark of night\u201d.\u00a0 Grayson, his brother, Kegan, mom, Amanda and I went to the police station in Poulsbo on December 28th.\u00a0 <\/sup>\u00a0Grayson was blessed to meet with Officer Brian Munoz explaining why he was there and delivered his gift.\u00a0 I do not believe Grayson realized his thoughtful unselfish gesture was what Jesus would have all of us do.<\/p>\n

The power of this gesture is what it means to \u201cshine the light in the darkness\u201d to give of oneself for another.\u00a0 Once more, a sweet child has shone all of us the light and connected us to the living Christ through his actions.\u00a0 As John wrote in this morning\u2019s Gospel reading, \u201cTo all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.\u201d\u00a0 I do not think Grayson caught the significance of his actions of this<\/p>\n

December 28th<\/sup> (on the church calendar marked as the day remembering, \u201cThe Holy Innocents\u201d) as our family marked another year once more without Trevor.<\/p>\n

As Christ\u2019 light shines brightly in the world, as we ready ourselves to welcome a new year of 2024, I pray we all find a way to bring a small piece of Christ\u2019 light to another person in this world.\u00a0 Grayson has taught us much.\u00a0 Let us all give God our thanks and praise and recognize the significance of Grayson\u2019s gift to the world \u2013a caring and loving heart–a true child of God.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Homily sharing for December 31, 2023. 1st Sunday After Christmas, by Connie Aurand \u00a0I offer these words of sharing this morning from my heart.\u00a0 They are part of my personal story and walk with Christ, and thus not the typical<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":716,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions\/716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithpoulsbo.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}