December 23rd, almost time for Scrooge to be visited by the three spirits. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mean many things to many people. Many who rarely attend church celebrate the season with purpose and fervor rivaling anything else they do the rest of the year. There is just something about it; the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping, and preparation for the feasts that will be laid out for family in the days ahead. When all is said and done, there will even be enough time to sit back and read through this year’s Christmas Cards, marveling at how tall the young ones have gotten as the old ones have become a bit grayer.
Even those serving the rest of us in the stores and shops seem to smile a bit brighter, unwearied by the long hours and the endless press of customers. We are all a bit like Scrooge on that Christmas morning; the time of the year, the Day itself, put in us Joy that we cannot seem to quite muster at any other time.
When we have passed through our youthful days of ripping the paper from our presents, greedily rushing through to be sure that every Christmas wish has been fulfilled, we are left with the rest, the important part: Time with family and friends; a meal shared, laughter, talk, and family games.
When we gather, we see the changes in each of us, the young ones who now open their presents more slowly and deliberately, those celebrating their very first Christmas, children now grown becoming what they were meant to be as they move into adulthood, and the oldest moving a bit slower each year. We laugh, we pray, we share our feast and at the heart of it all, the Christmas Story; the very first Christmas, the beginning of it all. The Christmas message creeps into our hearts; that child, born so long ago, born for us, to save us all. He who lived His life with Joy in His heart every moment, joy and abiding love for us all. Merry Christmas everyone, Merry Christmas.
Even those serving the rest of us in the stores and shops seem to smile a bit brighter, unwearied by the long hours and the endless press of customers. We are all a bit like Scrooge on that Christmas morning; the time of the year, the Day itself, put in us Joy that we cannot seem to quite muster at any other time.
When we have passed through our youthful days of ripping the paper from our presents, greedily rushing through to be sure that every Christmas wish has been fulfilled, we are left with the rest, the important part: Time with family and friends; a meal shared, laughter, talk, and family games.
When we gather, we see the changes in each of us, the young ones who now open their presents more slowly and deliberately, those celebrating their very first Christmas, children now grown becoming what they were meant to be as they move into adulthood, and the oldest moving a bit slower each year. We laugh, we pray, we share our feast and at the heart of it all, the Christmas Story; the very first Christmas, the beginning of it all. The Christmas message creeps into our hearts; that child, born so long ago, born for us, to save us all. He who lived His life with Joy in His heart every moment, joy and abiding love for us all. Merry Christmas everyone, Merry Christmas.
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