Advent Thoughts: Preparing for Christmas

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

12/25/2020

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On this Christmas Day, let me begin with a quote by twentieth-century writer G.K. Chesterton: "When a person has found something which he prefers to live itself, he for the first time has begun to live." Jesus, in proclaiming to us the kingdom of God, told us what we could prefer to live itself. The Bible ends by telling us we are called to be a people who could say, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20). As we have learned over the last weeks from Richard Rohr's book "Preparing for Christmas," God has a Big Picture, a plan for each of us and for our world. We've each been offered the opportunity to live in the Big Picture and be a part of it. 


The kingdom is finally identified as nothing less than Jesus Christ himself. When we say "Come, Lord Jesus" on this Christmas Day, we are declaring that Jesus is the Lord of our life. if Jesus is Lord, then Caesar is not! If Jesus is Lord, then the economy and stock market are not! If Jesus is Lord, then my house and possessions, my job, and even my family are not! If Jesus is Lord, then I am not! 
We are all searching for something that gives our live meaning, that is greater than ourselves. Well here is the wonderful surprise: God is the only one we can surrender to without losing ourselves. The irony is that we find ourselves and now live in a whole new field of meaning. It is definitely counter-intuitive, but the promise that came into the world on Christmas Day is full of grace and truth. Jesus is the gift, freely given, and all we have to do is connect with him. And when we connect with God through Christ, we realize that God takes nothing away from us, but gives everything.

You, we, have the right to know that it is good to be human, good to live on this earth, and good to have a body, because God in Jesus said "yes" to our humanity. Now go and enjoy your time on earth. Every day can be Christmas, because every day we remember that Jesus did not only come to be with us for a short time many years ago - he is with us today and we will be with him in the future. 

Meditation: Today just "taste and see the goodness of the Lord." Have a wonderful Christmas!

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On this Christmas Day, let me begin with a quote by twentieth-century writer G.K. Chesterton: "When a person has found something which he prefers to live itself, he for the first time has begun to live." Jesus, in proclaiming to us the kingdom of God, told us what we could prefer to live itself. The Bible ends by telling us we are called to be a people who could say, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev. 22:20). As we have learned over the last weeks from Richard Rohr's book "Preparing for Christmas," God has a Big Picture, a plan for each of us and for our world. We've each been offered the opportunity to live in the Big Picture and be a part of it. 


The kingdom is finally identified as nothing less than Jesus Christ himself. When we say "Come, Lord Jesus" on this Christmas Day, we are declaring that Jesus is the Lord of our life. if Jesus is Lord, then Caesar is not! If Jesus is Lord, then the economy and stock market are not! If Jesus is Lord, then my house and possessions, my job, and even my family are not! If Jesus is Lord, then I am not! 
We are all searching for something that gives our live meaning, that is greater than ourselves. Well here is the wonderful surprise: God is the only one we can surrender to without losing ourselves. The irony is that we find ourselves and now live in a whole new field of meaning. It is definitely counter-intuitive, but the promise that came into the world on Christmas Day is full of grace and truth. Jesus is the gift, freely given, and all we have to do is connect with him. And when we connect with God through Christ, we realize that God takes nothing away from us, but gives everything.

You, we, have the right to know that it is good to be human, good to live on this earth, and good to have a body, because God in Jesus said "yes" to our humanity. Now go and enjoy your time on earth. Every day can be Christmas, because every day we remember that Jesus did not only come to be with us for a short time many years ago - he is with us today and we will be with him in the future. 

Meditation: Today just "taste and see the goodness of the Lord." Have a wonderful Christmas!

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