Dear Friends,
Have you put the sprouts on yet? Maybe not; however, some people seem so much more organised than me when it comes to preparing for Christmas. There is usually someone who announces in July that they have all their cards written, another who has wrapped all their presents by mid-October and the top prize goes to the person who has put the sprouts on by late-November. I shrug it off with a laugh, but secretly I am quite jealous of their organisation skills. I know that Christmas has been held on 25th December for quite a few years now, but I nearly always get caught out and have a last minute rush to be ready. Preparing for Christmas can be such a big deal.
Preparing for Christmas should be a big deal. I’m not talking here about the cards, presents and decorations; rather preparing to hear once again the amazing gospel news of the incarnation. The season of Advent can all too easily get brushed aside with Christmas activities, even in church. However, it is only when we stop to consider the state of the world, that we can appreciate our need for a saviour. Advent brings us themes of darkness, warnings unheeded, and the judgment that is rightly to follow sinfulness. These are not just distant theological ideas, these are the everyday stories we hear on the news. Corrupt political regimes, unjust trade deals, human trafficking, war, manipulative practices of business, violence and abuse. Just a few words that highlight how easily hatred, greed and self-centredness can ruin lives and cause dreadful suffering. It is against this backdrop that we tell our world-famous story of the birth of a baby in Bethlehem.
The baby who was laid in that manger was the Son of God, come to redeem this troubled and needy world. He came not to impose the will of God upon us, but to invite us to share in God’s ways of love and peace. A true celebration of his birth is to accept the teaching of the man he became; follow the example that he set and believe in his death and resurrection. Preparing for Christmas is a big deal, for lives can then be changed.
Have you put the sprouts on yet? Maybe not; however, some people seem so much more organised than me when it comes to preparing for Christmas. There is usually someone who announces in July that they have all their cards written, another who has wrapped all their presents by mid-October and the top prize goes to the person who has put the sprouts on by late-November. I shrug it off with a laugh, but secretly I am quite jealous of their organisation skills. I know that Christmas has been held on 25th December for quite a few years now, but I nearly always get caught out and have a last minute rush to be ready. Preparing for Christmas can be such a big deal.
Preparing for Christmas should be a big deal. I’m not talking here about the cards, presents and decorations; rather preparing to hear once again the amazing gospel news of the incarnation. The season of Advent can all too easily get brushed aside with Christmas activities, even in church. However, it is only when we stop to consider the state of the world, that we can appreciate our need for a saviour. Advent brings us themes of darkness, warnings unheeded, and the judgment that is rightly to follow sinfulness. These are not just distant theological ideas, these are the everyday stories we hear on the news. Corrupt political regimes, unjust trade deals, human trafficking, war, manipulative practices of business, violence and abuse. Just a few words that highlight how easily hatred, greed and self-centredness can ruin lives and cause dreadful suffering. It is against this backdrop that we tell our world-famous story of the birth of a baby in Bethlehem.
The baby who was laid in that manger was the Son of God, come to redeem this troubled and needy world. He came not to impose the will of God upon us, but to invite us to share in God’s ways of love and peace. A true celebration of his birth is to accept the teaching of the man he became; follow the example that he set and believe in his death and resurrection. Preparing for Christmas is a big deal, for lives can then be changed.
Whether you have the sprouts on yet or not...Happy Christmas.
Phil