Keeping Christmas

I recall some time ago someone  telling me the story of a relative of theirs that would begin the process of taking down their Christmas decorations on the afternoon of Christmas Day.  While that does not happen at our house,  I am sure that some of you are already doing a similar thing- taking down your Christmas decorations, putting your Christmas gifts in their respective places.  Soon, our homes and neighborhoods will be void of the bright lights and decorations that brought a twinkle to our eyes just a few days ago. 

While there will come a time when we will put our decorations in their respective storage places and find a place for the gifts we receive,  I encourage you to carefully consider not putting the center of Christmas, Christ Jesus, away in the corner of the closet or in the attic.  The best of Christmas is God with us, Emmanuel, Christ Jesus.    Lord knows we need Christ in our world more than ever before.     I don’t know about you, but I think we need to keep Christmas at its best in our world and lives all the time. 

Peter Marshall was a Presbyterian pastor in another day and age in Washington DC.  He puts it this way about Christmas:    "May we not 'spend' Christmas or 'observe' Christmas, but rather 'keep' it."

As we read the story of the birth of Jesus in Lukes gospel, we read this verse in Luke 2:19 these words:

¹⁹ However, Mary continued to treasure all these things in her heart and to ponder them.

I  want to ponder and treasure the best of Christmas too.  How about you?  Amen.  Let it be, Lord.  Let it be.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord, we thank you for the precious gift of yourself at Christmas in your son and Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.   Give us the wisdom to allow Christ to be a part of our world the whole year through;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Christmas is Personal

Most every Christmas,  I will find myself on the receiving end of a comment from some adult who laments that “Christmas has gotten so materialistic.”    This usually will be followed by thoughts that for many people that Christmas has become consumed with only getting gifts that require “bigger barns” to store all the objects we have.  While I know the comments are well meaning and have some substance to them, Christmas at its purest and best is materialistic. 

Only the gospels of Luke and Matthew give some insight into what the birth of Jesus Christ was all about.  The gospel of Mark was in too much of a hurry to share about the life and death of Christ Jesus to tell us about the birthday of Jesus.  And the gospel of John is a “gospel of a different color” from the other 3 gospels.  The closest Christmas story that John has is found in John 1:14  where we read:

And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.  

In Christmas, we see God come to us in material, human  form.  While our Christmas gifts might come to us in a form made of  cotton, wool, or plastic,  God comes to us in Christmas in human material and flesh  in a child born to Mary named Jesus.     God is flesh and blood at Christmas in Christ Jesus.   While most of us yearn to hold a child, this child named Christ Jesus grows to become a man who would hold on his shoulders the sins of the whole world. 

What an awesome gift God gives us at Christmas in the gift of Christ Jesus.  Our joy and challenge is follow the example of Christ Jesus and make Christmas personal.   As God came to us up close and personal in the life of Christ Jesus,  we have the opportunity to  make the love of God visible in the people we are each and everyday.    We live in a world where love is a stranger to so many people.   Oh, to follow the example of the God we know in Christ Jesus and let the love of God become incarnate in who we are and what we do.  That is my Christmas hope and prayer for myself.  How about you?  Merry Christmas.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  “O holy child of Bethlehem, descend on us we pray.  Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.  We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell.  O come to us, abide with us.  Our Lord Emmanuel.  Amen.”

Pet Rocks And Other Christmas Gifts

I was browsing on the internet the other day and noticed that they are selling pet rocks again.    As I saw the ads for pet rocks,  I thought back to a Christmas in the 1970’s when I got a pet rock for a Christmas gift.   They were a fad at the time.  You can see a picture of a pet rock above.   Pet rocks are certainly easier to take care of than a dog or cat.    They certainly do not need shots or a litter box.  What do you do with a pet rock?    What do you do with any gift that you receive?   We can use it,  throw it away, give it away, or simply stash in into a closet, attic, or drawer to never be seen again. 

We prepare in these days not only to give gifts to friends and family, but to celebrate the greatest gift of this season or any lifetime-  God’s gift, Jesus Christ.   There is a scene in the gospels when the Roman leader, Pontius Pilate, has Jesus before him.  As Jesus stands there,  we hear these words in Matthew 27:22,  “What shall I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?” 

What shall we do with the greatest gift of this season or our life,  Jesus Christ?     I cannot tell you what happened to my pet rock, but I can tell you that I have not seen it in decades.  Will the gift of Jesus Christ be something that you get rid of when the thrills of Christmas are gone, or will Christ become a part of your life and routine in the days ahead?    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall 

Prayer:  O God,  we look forward with great expectation the coming of Christmas and the coming of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Prepare our hearts to give him room in this season and in our lives.  Amen.

Remembering December 7

December 7, 1941 was the date.  The place was Oahu in what now is the state of Hawaii.  On that Sunday morning, Japanese planes attacked the United States Navy installation of Pearl Harbor destroying many lives and much of the Pacific fleet.  While the attention of military personnel and local residents alike were focused on what was happening at Pearl Harbor, Marie was concentrating on something else.   At the Naval Hospital just a few miles from Pearl Harbor, she was giving birth to a little girl that she had carried in her womb for 9 months.  On a day when many lost their life a few  miles away from her, Marie gave birth to a new life. While many around her felt deep sadness,  Marie felt the joy of a new baby. 

I had the priviledge to be Marie’s pastor many years after that December day.  Though it has been decades since she told me that story, I still remember it.    While many Americans remember December 7 as a day of sadness, Marie remembered December 7  as a day of joy in her life.

Historians can give you many reasons why our country suffered such a major attack at Pearl Harbor that day.  Surely one of the reasons was that our armed forces were not prepared for such a violent and devastasting act.  On the other hand,  one of the main reasons why Marie gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl near Pearl Harbor that day was because she had followed medical counsel from her doctor.    It is always important to be prepared.

In these December days, Christians everywhere are in the season of Advent.   Remembering the urging of the prophets long ago to prepare for the coming of God’s anointed one, the Messiah, we prepare for the coming of Christmas and the living Christ into our midst in these days.  At the same time, Advent reminds us not only that Christ comes, but Christ will come again.  There will come a time when Christ will come and will create a “new Jerusalem” defeating the principalities and powers of this world.   On this December 7 and in this season, let us prepare accordingly.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall  

Prayer:  O God,  who has come and is coming: prepare my heart through the power of your Holy Spirit for your coming in these days;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.