by Rev. Robert A. Wendel
“Be strong and courageous and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to (Christmas) is finished correctly.” (1 Chronicles 28:20, New Living Translation adapted).
“God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are God’s ambassadors and God is using us to speak to you.” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20, New Living Translation).
Christmas comes but once a year. Right. We celebrate Christmas on December 25th, designated as the birthday of Jesus. But, as we all know, merchants in America have managed to turn a single day’s event into a whole season, beginning about November 1st and lasting almost until New Year’s Day, January 1st.
The Church calls the weeks before the 25th of December Advent. In the business community now there’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday, all geared toward sales and profits.
For times like these for the Christian Church’s part, it and its leadership want you and I to be nourished by God’s divine love. Our natural response should to ‘to love and care for others.’ When holiday fatigue dulls our senses and makes our inner spirit numb, we need to rekindle our compassion, remembering that our Heavenly Father’s gift of forgiveness came to us all in the form of a babe born in Bethlehem.
This Christmas, like never before, let God’s love move you from humbug to hallelujah and reignite and uplift your sense of charity, care, compassion and hope.
A short story by Francis Patrick Sullivan ends:
“She got up from the pew, wondering if she had put enough in the offering plate as it went by her. Near the church portico against a pillar and totally covered in rags, was someone holding a handwritten sign. The sign said “I am hungry.” The woman put a handful of paper money into the sign maker’s collection jar and said “I am not!”