Ready, Set, Christmas!
December 24, 2023 at 12:00 a.m.
Welcome to the fourth Sunday of Advent…I mean…Christmas Eve…errr…ummm…Fourthmas Eve-dent?
It’s complicated.
It does do a pretty good job of demonstrating the message we’ve been hearing for the last three weeks: Be prepared for you do not know the hour! Unlike Lent, Advent is not always the same length of days and this year it’s the shortest it can be. We get a whiplash transition of a few hours from the fourth Sunday to Christmas Eve.
But there’s something else that it shows us…at some point, the time to prepare is at an end and the time to rejoice is here! The reading for Christmas night (one of my favorites) from the Book of Isaiah is a reminder of this. “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light…For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.”
Sometimes, we can get lost in the preparation or all the things in the “leading up to” part of life. I get trapped in making check lists and trying to make sure I’ve thought of everything. I build up the fear of missing things…the missing of each thing seems like a disaster, so I try to make sure I do NOT miss a thing! Because missing any one thing will ruin EVERYTHING!!
Translate that to the spiritual side of life, you might fall into thoughts like…I’ll start going to church once I’ve straightened out my life. Or once I concoct the perfect prayer routine, then I’ll start to pray. Or I’ll follow Jesus once I feel like I’m worthy to be called his disciple.
But preparing is not doing. At some point, it is time to say “yes” to God and rejoice in the coming of Jesus! It’s why I love this reading from Isaiah – it’s written in the present tense! “A child IS born to us, a son IS given us…” The time to prepare our hearts has passed. It’s time to invite Jesus in and rejoice!!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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Welcome to the fourth Sunday of Advent…I mean…Christmas Eve…errr…ummm…Fourthmas Eve-dent?
It’s complicated.
It does do a pretty good job of demonstrating the message we’ve been hearing for the last three weeks: Be prepared for you do not know the hour! Unlike Lent, Advent is not always the same length of days and this year it’s the shortest it can be. We get a whiplash transition of a few hours from the fourth Sunday to Christmas Eve.
But there’s something else that it shows us…at some point, the time to prepare is at an end and the time to rejoice is here! The reading for Christmas night (one of my favorites) from the Book of Isaiah is a reminder of this. “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light…For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.”
Sometimes, we can get lost in the preparation or all the things in the “leading up to” part of life. I get trapped in making check lists and trying to make sure I’ve thought of everything. I build up the fear of missing things…the missing of each thing seems like a disaster, so I try to make sure I do NOT miss a thing! Because missing any one thing will ruin EVERYTHING!!
Translate that to the spiritual side of life, you might fall into thoughts like…I’ll start going to church once I’ve straightened out my life. Or once I concoct the perfect prayer routine, then I’ll start to pray. Or I’ll follow Jesus once I feel like I’m worthy to be called his disciple.
But preparing is not doing. At some point, it is time to say “yes” to God and rejoice in the coming of Jesus! It’s why I love this reading from Isaiah – it’s written in the present tense! “A child IS born to us, a son IS given us…” The time to prepare our hearts has passed. It’s time to invite Jesus in and rejoice!!
Merry Christmas, everyone!