Now is the time of year when the classic TV Christmas specials come out. I remember as a child watching them with glee, and that childlike excitement returns whenever these specials come on the screen again. In most cases, we are whisked back to a simpler time and a quieter reflection on Christmas.
Are there some TV specials that you watch together as a family every year? Take the time to do that again this year.
Are there some specials that do not contain anything specifically about Jesus but that you can draw Christian messages from? Think about how you can share Jesus with those who do not know him.
Are there certain scenes from your favorite special that bring you to tears every time, no matter how many times you have seen it? Reflect on why those moments touch you so.
Let this sort of screen time enrich your Christmastime.
Christmas is 10 days away. So are you ready yet? Now is the time when people start to scramble to get those last few gifts for family, friends or co-workers. It is when clean-up of the house begins in earnest for guests that will be arriving. It is when the final rehearsals take place for the Christmas pageants and cantatas.
All of this getting ready is well and good, of course. But the bigger question is “Are you ready spiritually?” Are you ready to give praise and glory to the Christ Child? Are you ready to come to Christ to be clean of your sins through confession and forgiveness? Are you ready to serve the newborn King in response to his loving presence with us?
These are the questions that matter. These are the questions that define this season. These are the questions that make Christmas come alive in us. Get ready for the joy!
I don’t know what it is about this year, but I have seen Christmas lights up on houses sooner than usual, and I know some people who had their Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. Why the urgency to get started on Christmas a little earlier? I wonder if it has to with the state of the world and the struggles we have collectively been through in the last several years. “Let’s get back to normal!” “Let’s do something positive and uplifting.” Those are the sentiments that are prompting the early Christmas decorating, I think.
Then I think about the first Christmas. The world at that time was not perfect in the least. Mary and Joseph lived in an area under Roman rule. Their lives were being dictated by an emperor who wanted all people to be counted for tax purposes. They were forced to travel far when expectant Mary was in no condition to journey anywhere.
But then God said, “Let’s get things started.” Jesus was born in Bethlehem, probably a little earlier than Mary and Joseph had expected. But it was Jesus’ birth that got the angels excited, that got bored and sleepy shepherds up and running to the manger where Jesus rested. It was Jesus’ entry into the world that introduced a sparkling star into the sky for the wise men to follow to come and worship Jesus.
Let the Christmas lights this season that you may have seen up a little earlier this year remind you that it is OK to start the celebration of Jesus’ birth whenever it feels right for you to do so. Because, whenever you get started in celebrating, it can lead to a chain reaction of celebrating our Savior.
So don’t ever feel bad about celebrating a little early this year. When it comes to celebrating Jesus, the sooner the better, and the longer the celebration.
When the Church calendar turns to Advent, I always find myself feeling a different way. My inner child gets excited about Christmas once again. My thoughts turn to children’s Christmas programs I prepared for in grade school during the Advent season. I ponder opening daily windows or pockets on some sort of Advent calendar to count the days until Christmas. I can smell the scent of candles from an Advent wreath being lit at dinnertime. I hear Christmas music being played from my car radio and start to feel a little more upbeat about things in general.
That’s what Advent does: It sparks joy. It lets excitement build. It brings to mind the things that matter. It drives our living toward Jesus, born in a manger on Christmas. What if all of life was like our Advent living? It can be, if we let it. We can get ready for Jesus’ arrival on the Last Day any time of the year. We can pray and read Scripture every day to remind us of the salvation we receive through Jesus. We can cross off days on our calendar each night, knowing that we are one day closer to meeting our Savior. We can light candles anytime to remember the Light of the World. We can even listen to Christmas music in any month if we want to, to let the message of Jesus linger. Enjoy Advent living today and every day!
This post is related to the Advent family devotional, Journey to Joy, now available at creativecommunications.com.
One of the traditions of the Advent season is the Advent wreath. The concept of the Advent wreath originated in Germany in the 16th century. However, the modern four-candle Advent wreath, with its candles representing the Sundays of Advent, originated in 1839.
The four colored candles represent the four weeks of Advent, with one additional candle being lit each Sunday in Advent. The flames of candles are a representation of the light of Christ approaching on Christmas.
The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” to highlight the role of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt as we anticipate the coming Messiah.
The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
The third pink candle symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepherd’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is the color for joy in church settings. The Third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday (Latin for “Rejoice”) and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy we have at arriving halfway through Advent.
On the fourth week of Advent, we light the last purple candle. This candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on earth, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).
This wooden chair with a counted cross-stitch cushion was passed down to me from my grandmother, who did the stitching. The chair fits well into the wooden features of my 1930s home. Each time I sit in this chair, I am reminded of sitting at the table with Grandpa and Grandma at meals around Thanksgiving, Christmas and other times of the year. There is a familiar feeling to siting in that chair. It feels like home, and the fact that Grandma stitched the place for me to sit makes it even more special.
As Christmas approaches and many family and friends will be sitting in all sorts of chairs old and new gathered around many a table, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is in the midst of us. His name Emmanuel means “God with us,” and he said in Scripture, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Jesus has a seat at the table, and his presence should be familiar and comfortable to us. Jesus feels like home, and he has a seat prepared for us at the banquet table in heaven. He knows we are coming there.
God knit each one of us in our mother’s womb and he stitches us into his family through the birth of his Son into the world to save us. Jesus sat at table with sinners in his lifetime, and he served a special meal to his disciples on Maundy Thursday of his body and blood in bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins.
“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown” as Linus would say. Unto us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Make room for him at your holiday dinner tables through prayer and reflection and love toward one another.
When I read in Scripture about Gabriel’s visit to Mary to announce that she would be the mother of Jesus, I always have to laugh a little when it says Mary “wondered what kind of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29). Now there’s an understatement. Was this a greeting of death? A greeting of the devil? A greeting of a dream or hallucination in Mary’s own mind? None of these, it turned out. It was a greeting of good news from heaven. Gabriel made it clear that the message was coming from God and that Mary was specially chosen to give birth to God’s Son.
We call this event the Annunciation, and we sort of take this meeting for granted nowadays. But put yourself in Mary’s shoes for a moment. None of what she experienced made much sense at first, but she processed the information, and she took her role to heart, understanding and accepting the magnitude of her holy calling by the end of the angel’s visit, saying: “Be it unto me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).
We don’t always understand at first what is happening when some life-altering events come our way (when we are unexpectedly greeted by a job change, a move, a pregnancy, for instance). But eventually we see the hand of God in the process and understand what positive plan God has in mind for us in the long run. Let our response to God always be: Be it unto me as you have said.
The field of linguistics often uses the term speech acts. Speech acts are expressions by a person that not only present information but also perform an action. Speech acts commonly include such things as apologizing, promising, ordering, answering, requesting, complaining, warning, inviting, refusing, and congratulating. We experience speech acts when a couple says, “I do,” to one another in a wedding ceremony, when witnesses swear in court to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or when we confess our sins in church. Speech acts such as these change the reality of the situation and often require a response from the addressee.
In Genesis, we read of God using speech acts one after the other:
“Let there be light,” and there was light” (Genesis 1:4).
“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so (Genesis 1:9).
“Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so (Genesis 1:24).
You get the idea. When God speaks, things happen. The same can be said of Jesus who proclaimed: “Be healed,” and people were healed, “You are forgiven,” and sins were removed, “I am with you always,” and he was.
From his very birth Jesus as the Word Made Flesh accomplished that which God purposed and succeeded in the thing for which God sent him (see Isaiah 55:11). And the Word of the Lord is still at work in our world today as pastors say through water and the Word, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The Lord speaks in Holy Communion through the words, “Take and eat; take and drink.” Reality changes through these speech acts: children of earth become children of God; partakers of blessed bread and wine become united with Christ.
The Word of the Lord matters. The Word of the Lord has power. The Word of the Lord speaks into existence what we need most: a relationship with him. Let the Word dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16).
We are now in the season of Advent, the weeks the Church has set aside to prepare for the birth of Christ on Christmas. What do we do during this time? There are any number of things you can do to get ready for Jesus. Counting down the days on a calendar, lighting candles on an Advent wreath, reading a seasonal devotion each day, attending special worship services in your church are just some of the activities you can engage in.
But the most important thing for you to do is to prepare your heart for Jesus. As the hymn says, “Prepare him room.” What does that mean exactly? It means ridding yourself of those things that have distracted you for the Christ Child—overindulgences on food, TV and smartphone time, for instance. It means clearing more space for thinking about Jesus and praying to him. It means making Jesus a priority in your personal decisions and planning.
When Jesus is at the center of who you are, then what you do will follow in line with his will and his way. As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). What Jesus wants for you must take precedence over what you want. His life must become the driving force of your life. So Advent becomes a turning over of the reins of your life to Jesus and letting him steer the course of your future.
Advent then is deeper than candles and candy and decorations. It is about faith and trust and total dependency on Christ. It is about becoming a vessel in which he exists and thrives. It is about letting him be mangered in you forever.
When I was a kid, during the season of Advent we would always have a little manger scene out with the figures of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, a shepherd and three wise men. It was a child-friendly set, with almost like a Lincoln Log stable and Fisher Price style figures (I know I am dating myself with these references).
I just recently learned that this manger scene was a wedding gift for my parents, who were married 50 years ago on December 27, 1967. What a wonderful wedding gift to give: the story of the birth of Jesus in tangible form to share with future children as part of a family tradition.
My parents still have those figures and they still put them out. And I am again reminded when I see them of the marvelous story of how Christ came to earth to save us.
