Sunday, December 25 Merry Christmas
The presence is… born unto us
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It's All About The Presence
Our continued journey through Advent with the people called Campbell United Methodist Church in Springfield, MO
Saturday, December 24
The presence is… unfolding before us
Wal-Mart had the Christmas inventory out before Halloween this year. The word has already spread that Target will be opening at midnight on Thanksgiving. I don’t believe I am pushing it to say that retail owns Christmas. Please understand I find some entertainment in hitting the stores the day after Thanksgiving. So, I would be hypocritical to say that shopping is a bad thing. Yet, I will be the first to admit that as soon as I “need” something on my Black Friday excursion is the moment the experience no longer is fun for me.
When did this season become so much about the stuff? When I remember Christmas past, I do not remember the stuff I received. I do remember my brothers and me trying to find where the presents had been hidden. For me it was more about the collaborative effort of the siblings than it was about the gold at the end of the rainbow. I smile when I think of the snapshots in my memory of family moments. How many times must we watch The Christmas Story in one day? My brothers and father putting together a gingerbread house as a competition against the girls in the family. These are memories that are not wrapped up in the stuff of the season, they are about the focus of the season.
What if we all stepped back from the check-out counter a little this year? I realize this is a call that has been coming out of the church for decades and so why this year over any other year? If there is still breathe going in and out of our lungs, we have another year to get closer to the manager. On the night Jesus was born, the birthplace was occupied by those that heard the call of God. I want to hear the call of God when I celebrate my Savior’s birth. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” Luke 2:10.
Good news of a savior born to us. May I focus on the joy and spending time with the people God has blessed my life with.
Written by Rev. Melissa Dodd
Today, prayerfully read: Luke 2:8-20
Ask, what does this passage say about God? What does it say about people? What is it teaching us, even today?
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