This summer when Pastor Paul Hahm and I were planning the sermon themes
for the year, we talked about how our lives would be different if God was
literally “with us” at Advent. If Jesus tagged along on our shopping trips or
stood at our elbow at Christmas parties, would anything change? What if Jesus
was at the table during our family dinners or helping us to hang the lights on
the house?
While those
are playful questions, they are a good launching point for discussion of the
meaning of Christmas. We celebrate the coming of Jesus, God made flesh. In Luke
1, Zechariah sings of this divine event saying, “By the tender mercy of our
God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”
God’s Light
has come. Darkness and death are banished and we have a guide who will lead us
in the way of peace. In Advent, we both anticipate Christ’s coming and
celebrate Christ’s living presence. This Good News can influence our preparation.
If Christ
walks with us when we shop, it affects how we respond to the people around us
and the way we spend our money. If Christ is with us at the family table and at
every party that we attend, our conversation will reflect his light and peace.
If Christ helps us decorate, we are preparing our homes for a holy celebration.
I invite
you to join Pastor Paul and me this Advent in consciously inviting Jesus to all the
preparation and celebrations. I know that, for me, it means that I will be
offering blessings over decorations, praying for graciousness in my shopping
excursions and asking God to guide me in the way of peace at all holiday
gatherings.
What might
each of us do to invite Jesus along for the celebration? I invite you to
worship with us on the Sundays in Advent, where Paul and I will offer the
challenge to accompany Emmanuel, the Light of World, in this holy season.
No comments:
Post a Comment