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Waiting for Christmas--Nov 28 2005 |
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Tuesday, 13 December 2005 |
I suppose you can say that the Christmas
season is officially here. It is after all, the week after
Thanksgiving. Not that such an observation matters much anymore.
Christmas is rushed upon us and Thanksgiving is ushered quickly in and
out. Maybe it’s always been like that, but I don’t think so. It seems
to me that I remember a time when you were allowed to ease into
Christmas, and, consequently, really enjoy Thanksgiving. Nowadays,
there seems to be a big push to see which neighborhood can get lighted
the earliest, which store can become Christmas central first, which
family can get their tree up with a few presents under it the quickest.
Hurry, hurry, hurry. Rush, rush, rush, rush, rush.
I don’t know who the people were that first
put together the lectionary readings and mapped out the church’s
calendar year. But, let’s give them a round of applause. Let’s give
them a standing ovation. They don’t allow us to get ahead of ourselves.
Not in the church. The church’s year doesn’t start with Christmas. It
starts with the waiting for Christmas. The four week build - up, the
prequel, if you will. It wasn’t that the early church fathers, and
maybe, mothers, were against the celebrating of Christmas they simply
put together a time or preparing, a time of waiting, a time of readying
and studying so that when that moment of jubilant, joyous expression of
“ Joy to the World! ” is shouted – that moment will resonate more
loudly within our heads and hearts.
Maybe this year we can exercise some restrain
and not rush into Christmas. Maybe we won’t choose to hurry the moment
up or skip over the pregnancy just to get to the birth. Maybe for the
next three weeks, with Jesus’ words of preparation and waiting and
watchfulness still ringing in our ears from the first week – we’ll sit
down and think. Ponder. Treasure words and thoughts in our hearts. See
a star sitting in the sky. Hear the angels voices in the church’s
cantata. Smell the evergreen of a tree or a piece of garland. Maybe,
this year, we can let Christmas unfold instead of hurriedly unwrapping
it.
That kind of celebration might make all the
difference in the world. We might really be ready – full of hope, fully
expecting God’s appearance. Happy Advent! I suppose there’s such a
greeting. If not, there ought to be!
Grace and peace
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