It’s Much More
“Advent is not about a sentimental waiting for the Baby Jesus.” ~ Richard Rohr
This coming weekend is where it’s at! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have different meanings to different age groups.
For children, Christmas means that Santa has finally arrived. They have spent many days, probably longer than Advent, trying to be good so that they make it on Santa’s good list instead of the naughty list. This was done so that they could get as many gifts as possible. As soon as the gifts are unwrapped, all bets are off on being good any longer.
For young adults, Christmas is a tamer version of the above paragraph. They are happy that Christmas is here because they, too, have been hoping for gifts. Their happiness at Christmas is often dampened, though, because the gifts are now clothes rather than all sorts of fun things.
For adults, Christmas means listening to the kids squeal with delight at their gifts and then fighting with one another because they like each other’s gifts more. The adults also look at the piles of shredded gift wrap on the floor as well as the tired real trees in the living room and see dollar signs. They’re going to be paying credit card bills for a couple of months.
Many people look at Christmas through tired eyes because they have forgotten the spiritual nature of Christmas. When the day is more about the worldly nature of Christmas, they feel fatigued and wish for it all to be finished.
However, when Christmas is spiritual, we realize that it just begins at the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Advent may be over in a week but Christmas and the season will just begin. This week, look forward to the spiritual celebration that is about to take place. That will make the time you spend through Advent all the more worth it.
FAITH ACTION: Resolve to use this final week of Advent in earnest so that your celebration of Christmas this coming weekend may be as spiritually fruitful as possible.