Isaiah 9:6-7
I am back in Michigan, celebrating the holidays with my
family. Tomorrow, we will host about 100 people at our house, for our annual
Christmas Open House. We’ll eat, drink and laugh all day and night long. It’s a
highlight of the season for us and we look forward to it all year. And then by
the end of the night, as we fill the sink with soapy water, as we gather empty
cups, as we pick up crumbs and rearrange the furniture, we’ll wonder,
exhaustedly, what we were thinking having this many people over!
But as we finish the chores, and sit in the living room
around the big Christmas tree, we’ll recount the day and the people, we’ll
relive “the joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings”
as the author of Isaiah puts it so aptly. “For a child has been born – for us!
The gift of a son – for us!”
Christmas is a time of sharing. Sharing love, sharing
smiles, sharing time, sharing gifts. God shared His best gift with us during
this season, His Son. And it’s a moment to be celebrated. With “festival joy”
as it says in Isaiah! With others? Yes, I love those quiet mornings spent by
the lit tree, sipping coffee, reading a book. But I really love those evenings
spent sharing stories with family, laughing with friends, catching up with
people I don’t see in person often enough. That festival joy is contagious and
it carries us through the rest of the winter. It gets us through the dark
nights and the cold mornings. It gets us to Easter, to the spring, and the
redemption, we all so desperately crave.
Over the next few days, consider how you can participate in
this “festival joy”. Maybe it’s sharing Christmas dinner at the church, eating
or serving, just being a part of it all. Maybe it’s smiling at a stranger in
Target as you rush to get that one last thing. Maybe it’s sitting with someone
who doesn’t get to tell her stories that often. Or maybe it’s simply by
worshipping in a crowd on Christmas Eve.
Christmas is a great celebration. God has given us that
gift. Use it. Embrace it. For Christmas comes but once a year.
1 comment:
Mary Anne Kennedy Lyberg Your family's spirit is contagious as you described. Miss y'all.
Sarah Knapp Miss you too!
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