"Missing the prophetic mystery of Jesus' birth means missing God-with-us, God beside us- God becoming one of us. Missing out on Jesus changes everything." The Advent Conspiracy
I missed out on Jesus a lot when I was growing up. For me Christmas time, especially at church, meant being forced into a ridiculous shepherd or an angel costume and having to recite cheesy lines about baby Jesus being born in a stable. Even as I god older and the Christmas pageants came to an end I still missed out on Jesus every Christmas. For me Christmas became that time of year when I would be forced to exchange absolutely meaningless and thoughtless gifts with people that I couldn't stand and was thankful that I only saw the once a year.
In the past two years Christmas has become so much more for me, especially this past Christmas. This past Christmas was the first one without my best friend calling me to sing "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" as only he could. The past two years I have started paying more attention to Jesus and less attention to the gifts and the annoying family members.
I'll admit that this year I bought more gifts than I have in a long time; but I have also been paying more attention to Jesus.
Jesus was a Rabbi who called his disciples from all walks of life, something he still does. Jesus' disciples missed the point of his teachings many times, something we still do. Jesus never stopped believing that his disciples were good enough he still believes that we are good enough.
What if this year, instead of just singing the words to the carols, we listened to the words and took the time to really think about them?
"O come thou day spring come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here disperse the gloomy clouds of night and deaths dark shadows put to flight rejoice rejoice Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel." O Come O Come Emmanuel
"...Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother and his name all oppression shall cease...." O Holy Night
"Good news of great joy for every woman, every man, this will be a sign to you a baby born in Bethlehem....." My Soul Magnifies the Lord (Chris Tomlin)
"...Hallelujah the King is here given for all men for today the Holy Son of God is born in Bethlehem...." Born in Bethlehem (Third Day)
This Christmas take some time away from the cookies and the presents and think about who that baby born in Bethlehem so many years ago is to you.
go in PEACE. live PEACE. be PEACE.
