Category Archives: Advent

O Christmas Tree

Christmas tree

Is your tree up yet? Are you even putting up a tree this year? The Christmas tree has become a hallmark of the Christmas season. I recently watched a news segment on the tree that was chosen to be placed in Rockefeller Center this year. It came from a yard in a Massachusetts town, where it had been growing to its gigantic height for the last 30 years. This year was its time to shine. The lighting of that tree took place on Dec. 5. It now brings joy to the entire city of New York.

My tree’s story is not that dramatic. I went to Lowe‘s and bought mine 14 years ago, which was the first Christmas in my new house. It has lost some of its luster and the lights that came with it no longer work, but I have a special place in my heart for it because of its history. I use new lights for it now and have added new ornaments to it every year. It brings me that “Christmas feeling” each year.

Whether artificial or real, your Christmas tree has a story too. Think about the story of your tree when you put it up (or just think about past trees you have put up if you are not having one this year). The stories of our Christmas trees are a way for us to enter into the story of the birth of Christ. His story is a part of us. His story shines bright for us. His story has special meaning to us. The “Christmas feeling” that I get when Luke 2 is read in church on Christmas Eve is beyond any other feeling of the season. And rightly so. No tree can save us, except the tree of Christ’s cross. That is why he was born away in a manger.

Every Need

Wish list

 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

“What do you want for Christmas?“ we ask our children and one another in these weeks of December. But later, perhaps in hushed tones, we say to each other with compassion in our voices: “What do you need?” The difference between what we want and what we need can be quite shocking. God is the only one who really knows what we absolutely need, regardless of what we tell him we want. Even in this Christmas season, when we say that dreams comes true, the reality is that not everything we want is actually what God sees that we need.

That is not to say that we are deprived. The gifts that God supplies us come from “his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We are made rich in Jesus through his birth among us and the forgiveness, love, peace and joy he brings that we are in need of most of all. In the end, all we really need is Jesus. Our every need is found in him.

The Kids’ Table

kids’ table

Did you ever have to sit at the kids’ table at your family Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner? It’s always off to the side somewhere, often a little lower in height to the main table, and regularly reserved for the smallest among us.

Some people think of the kids’ table as the last place you want to be. But Jesus wouldn’t think so. Listen to these words:

“But when you are invited [to a banquet], go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:10-11).

Metaphorically speaking, the kids’ table is the place for us to be in the kingdom of God. Why? Because we are to be humble in our approach to God and to one another. We are never to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, St. Paul tells us (Romans 12:3). Only the host, who is Jesus, can invite us to be near him at the head table. Only Jesus can make us worthy of a seat with the saints. Only his suffering, death and resurrection for our sake give us VIP status at the feast of heaven. In honor of him, we graciously await that beckoning forward by our Savior.

Here Again?!

Christmas

There is a line from a Beach Boys song that my siblings and I always laughed about growing up. The line goes, “Christmas comes this time each year.” Yes, it does. Pretty obvious, right? But with each passing year, I do have to say that I find myself a little bit surprised when December rolls around. “Here again?!” I say to myself somewhat incredulously. But the calendar does not lie, and Christmas is something that comes regardless if we are ready for it or not. Some wish it would come quicker. Some hope it comes late. But every December 25, it arrives.

The holiday itself is a symbol of Christ’s arrival in our lives each and every year. He comes to us, ready or not. He comes to us, busy or not. He comes to us, happy or not. His arrival is sometimes long-awaited and sometimes a surprise to us. No matter what is going on in your life right now, let Christmas come to you. Let its meaning sink into you. Let the Son of God born as a baby in Bethlehem warm your heart, soul and mind this time each year…and always.

Biography

biography

Today is the very last day of the church year. It also happens to land on the last day of November this year, which seems appropriate. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent and the first day of the new church year. It also works out well this year that the first day of the new church year is the first day of December.

So take some time today to contemplate the meaning of the church year. It is, in a nutshell, a year-long biography of sorts of the life of Christ, and who doesn’t like a good biography? We begin with the events surrounding the birth of Christ as the Son of God (the seasons of Advent and Christmas), we follow the ministry moments in the life of Christ as he spreads the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Epiphany and Lent seasons), we ponder the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord for our salvation (Holy Week and the Easter season), and we consider how Christ is with us in our hearts now that he has ascended into heaven (Pentecost season). But the story isn’t finished. We wait for the final chapter: Christ’s return on the Last Day to take us to heaven to be with him. There we will live happily ever after. So keep telling and retelling Christ’s biography throughout the coming church year to yourself and to others. You’ll be glad you did.