Christmas Presence

In a capitalistic society such as ours, sacred observances are often clouded with commercialism.  Christmas, for example, was originally a celebration of giving--the giving of God's gift to us through the birth of Jesus Christ.  Yet, somehow, it has become focused on getting instead of giving.

Even when we give, we sometimes do so out of obligation more than the desire to be a blessing.  We keep tabs on who gave or didn't give something to us last Christmas so we can return the favor.

We often ask one another, "Are you ready for Christmas?" when what we really want to know is whether you have finished (or started!) your Christmas shopping and if you have put up your Christmas decorations yet.  These questions are not necessarily based on commercialism, but stem from another "c" word--competition.

The pressure is on to deck the halls and fill the malls.  Instead of love, joy and peace we fill our homes with gadgets, gizmos and noise.  We try to outdo our neighbors, and if they won't compete with us, we simply try to outdo ourselves.  A friend of mine recently shared a story of how one man bought the iPhone, iPad, iPod classic, iPod touch, iPod nano and the iPod shuffle before finally exclaiming, "iBroke!" 

For some of us, Christmas day becomes a day to recover from all of the frantic shopping for and shipping of Christmas presents because it is the only day the stores are closed. 

After Christmas day comes the quentessential query, "What did you get (see, there's that key word, "GET" ) for Christmas?"  Instead of listing all of the things you did or did not get for Christmas, try sharing about the Christmas presence.  Tell of how you experienced the power and presence of Jesus Christ in your life over the past year.  Talk about how you helped make it possible for others to experience the presence of Christ.

If you find that you don't have much to talk about, perhaps now is the time to put the right presence on your Christmas list.  The good thing is that you won't have to worry about fighting the crowds at the mall or having it sell out or placed on back order, because the Lord's presence is "not available in stores."  You don't even have to open up your wallet.  All you have to do is open up your heart.

BNcouraged!

Rev. Karen