Scripture:
1 John 4:7-21
1 John 4:7-21
As Christmas draws near you can see people hustling and bustling everywhere. We go shopping for that elusive Christmas present. We decorate our homes, streets, and businesses. How many people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas? Growing up people everywhere would say “Merry Christmas” it didn’t matter where you were from or what you believed. Christmas had a way to draw people closer to each other. Today you are lucky to hear “Happy Holidays” in order not to offend someone. The Christ in Christmas is being forgotten.
This is our second week of Advent. I sometimes wonder how many hearts are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. It seems to me that Advent is also slipping away almost forgotten. What is advent and what does it really mean? Simply put Advent as the “Traditional” churches define it is the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is a period of four weeks before Christmas. Each week begins on a Sunday. Each Sunday a candle is lit as a reminder. Each week has its own meaning. Week one is Expectation or Hope. Week two is for Love, week three is for Joy, and week for is Peace. The fifth candle for advent is the Christ candle which is lit on Christmas day.
There is no special magic in Advent, nothing spectacular in of itself. What makes advent special and dear to me is that it is a time to prepare and celebrate. It is a way to condition my heart and reflect on Christ. It builds upon the celebration of the birth of our savior. Advent may be a tradition from your traditional old fashioned churches but it still goes a long way to remind us of whose birth we celebrate on December 25th. Nancy reads from a book to our kids every day of advent. They light a candle, read, pray, and end the moment with a Christmas Carol or two. The books are stories about events that lead up to the birth of Jesus. True the stories are fictional and based on children. They do bring out the meaning of Christmas. They help prepare our hearts and reflect on God through this most wonderful time of year. It isn’t too late to start celebrating Advent. Choose your own way but remember God is love. He loved us so much His one and only Son was born on Christmas Day…
Merry Christmas
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