If the days and weeks seem to flash by – and Friday arrives
before I realize Tuesday is past -- this year has flown by, too – a common
complaint from we autumnal gardeners. Now aflame with color, the oak tree
across the street daily concurs: 2012 is almost gone – and a new year is
coming. Christmas lights, which started appearing the weekend before
Thanksgiving, underscore the reality.
The horse-drawn carriages also are back —bringing the sound of sleigh
bells and plodding horses. And again,
the season’s luscious music surrounds me.
The magical melancholy of Christmas is here!
The sights and sounds of the Holidays have arrived, but summer 2012 lingers. And with such moderate temperatures,
the prospect looms of another outbreak of West Nile virus carrying mosquitoes
for the summer of 2013. Ho- Ho-
Ho. Sunny and seventy makes for an interesting forecast as the holidays speed
along!
So, the sights and sounds, if not the temperature, spur me
on. We put up a live wreath, duly illuminated with strands of battery-operated
tiny lights. And I have high hopes
again for completing the Christmas cards, and getting them in the mail before
mid-January. Some years I make it, some I don’t.
Selecting a proper card – not too schmaltzy, preachy, or
vapid – took some time. I avoided
selecting any cards with angels.
Studying Revelation this fall, I learned what Hallmark represents these
creatures to be are not like the real ones John met! They were neither roly-poly cute bundles nor serene and pristine
beings. They are terrifying!
And their message is blunt: Woe to the world that rejects still its Creator and Lord!
Not the jolliest of greetings, huh? That would give a boost
to the “take the Christ out of Christmas” crew!
Seventy and sunny may not feel seasonal – and I may not be ready to close out another year of
life, but, for Christians, Advent -- four weeks before December 25 -- is the beginning of a new year on the
church calendar. This preparation time before Christmas remind the
church that Christ has come and is coming again. Whatever others are celebrating, it’s a time for us to ponder the
symbols of His first coming,
Christmas, which are either repressed or ignored:
· a virgin-birth in a humble stable,
· angels that announce to shepherds God’s purpose in coming to earth, and
· a star which guides wise men to His presence.
If “Christmas is understanding what God has
done for me in Christ,” (to quote a friend), it’s the time when
former prisoners can explain to those still bound up what it feels like to be
free – and invite them to join us. (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir)
Others might play the Grinch and try to
steal the symbols of Christmas’
joy – so what? Now is the time for
our taking our own personal inventory and preparing, not for Christ’s birth but
His return.
Check your oil supply now – batteries may not be available when you need light the most. ( Matthew 25:1-13) It’s time to be ready for His return – the one He commanded that John share with the church. (Revelation 1:3 )
Check your oil supply now – batteries may not be available when you need light the most. ( Matthew 25:1-13) It’s time to be ready for His return – the one He commanded that John share with the church. (Revelation 1:3 )
Other humble thoughts on the Holidays:
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