From the Pastor's Desk (Dec. 2025)

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered (treasured) them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.     ~Luke 2:18-20

I remember it and see it vividly in my mind as though it still graced the top of my dresser, even though it was decades ago. It was a ceramic nightlight in the shape of an open Bible standing upright, with a child standing in front of it. I received it as a Christmas present from my Sunday School teacher in my late Elementary School years. I immediately took it home and placed it on my dresser and turned it on – and the glow it put in my room was beautiful.

As is typical for children at that age, the newness wore off fairly quickly, and not long after Christmas I quit turning it on. But it just so happened that the following year, the necessary uncluttering of my dresser uncovered that precious night light just as Christmas once again approached, and once again I turned it on to enjoy its glow.
 
While the night light was not particularly a Christmas night light, this started a tradition that went on for many, many years. I would only turn on that night light at Christmas time, and that familiar soft glow would trigger all the amazing thoughts I would have of my favorite holiday. When that light turned on in November, it meant that Christmas decorations would soon go up, traditions with family were about to commence, church Christmas programs that I always loved would soon begin, and another round of presents would soon appear on my lap. It was with sadness that I would turn off that night light shortly into January for another year. But I knew that I was just 10 months away from turning it back on when the next Christmas would arrive, and as I would drift off to sleep on the first night of it’s glow as Christmas once again approached, I would reflect, ponder, and treasure all of the fun Christmas experiences that were just around the corner.

That light went with me everywhere I moved – from the first time I moved out on my own, and even all the way down here to York when I came to Codorus the first time in 2007. At some point through the years, the little boy broke off, but I would still light that night light for nearly two decades as the Christmas Holiday would approach. Old traditions and new traditions alike, I would cherish every Christmas memory I could think of when the light would come on for another Christmas season.

Every year we hear the familiar Christmas story from Luke 2. It is beautifully told, and it depicts the stressful night that Mary and Joseph went through, the scary night the Shepherds endured, and the sacred night when our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was born. When He arrived, Mary and Joseph’s stress subsided and the shepherds’ fear melted, and all anyone knew was that this baby was the one prophesized to save the world. What we rarely think about from that passage, however, are those last verses – how Jesus’ birth caused a great choir of celebration from the angels, and the joy that night turned into was enough to bring a peace and happiness to Mary’s heart that she would treasure, even long after Jesus was gone.

There were no Christmas trees, colorful lights, Christmas pageants, or beautifully wrapped packages to open (other than the gold, frankincense and myrrh the Kings would eventually bring). Still, that first Christmas brought more joy than any one of us has experienced on any of our Christmas celebrations, because it reminded people of their way to salvation and eternal paradise, the best gift anyone could ever receive.

How I miss that night light. I don’t even know what happened to it anymore, and it has been quite some time since I lit it up. But if I were to find it, I would turn it on once again, but this time, as I have grown and become closer to Jesus, it would give new meaning: the joy of Christmas with my wife, the joy of Christmas with my son, and the joy of Christmas with the One who gave me eternal life. Whatever beacons you use to celebrate Christmas, may you remember the true reason for the season, and treasure it always in your heart.
~Pastor Eric