Christmas eve

As I sit here in preparation for our services tonight, I have been reflecting on what is the message that I need to hear. As I contemplate all that has happened in my community and in the world, I realize that now more than ever I need the grace of God in my life and to be an instrument of that grace towards others. So many people are separated this Christmas whether by the war, by death, by divorce, or by illness. We need to have the Prince of Peace be with us during these troubling times. Not one of us is immune to the stress and anxiety that seems to be a normal state of affairs. Many struggle without adequate housing, little to no food or warm clothing, and Christmas becomes just another day of empty promises.
Christmas is the ultimate promise of God's redemptive love for us. In the congregation that I serve I spent the last 4 weeks focusing on the secular images of Christmas whether that be consumerism, work, or even family. We seem more concerned about the gifts we give or receive than we do about God's gift to us. We seek comfort in the secular world and the myths that it produces. And somehow we continue to feel empty and unfulfilled. We look for other means to continue to seek happiness or at least a reduction of our anxiety or fear.
Christmas is about the birth of our savior Jesus, Emmanuel God with us. It is not about Christmas trees or Santa Claus or what I received. Those are important but in and of themselves do not provide our salvation or our purpose.
I mentioned last week about a number of things one family can do to share the true Christmas Spirit with those around them. One can donate food to a pantry, winter coats, gloves, mittens to shelters or schools, buy a meal for someone at the Open Door mission or other shelters. The list is endless. When we do something for someone else with no expectations of being paid back, we are sharing what God has done for us.
May this be a very Merry Christmas for you and your family. Spend some time between the food and fellowship and the gift giving to remember the story that started it all.
May God bless you.