Christmas time is here

Every year Christmas seems to creep up on you sooner and sooner. As soon as Halloween candy and costumes are taken off the shelves of Wal-Mart, Santa and his reindeer take over. The stores start to send out ads with flashy gimmicks to get the buyers in their stores before the ever too soon looming deadline comes crashing in on them. Hundreds even thousands of dollars, along with hours of worry are spent trying to find the best most acceptable presents for family, friends and people that we don’t even like. For the families who actually took off their Christmas lights, its time to compete with the Joneses and put up five thousand sparkling bulbs along with a fat man and elves on top of their house. It seems like we always lose Christ in this. He disappears right until the very end when we go to church and read the Christmas story on Christmas day. But what did Christmas really start with? It never started Santa, a red shiny nose, and a talking snow- man. No, it started Christ, with the divine Jesus stepping down so low in to the womb of Mary so that he could be the infleshment of God. 

While it is not even December most of have already made it through it Black Friday and probably have most of our Christmas shopping done. But have we spent any time yet contemplating why we are buying these presents? Christ birth.  I am pretty sure Mary spent a lot of time dwelling upon this upcoming event.  How was this going to change her world? How was this going to change her world? What would he look like? How could this actually be the son of God growing inside her? I don't doubt that she had just as many questions considering the incarnation of God that was her son Jesus. Yet, I also believe that she grew to have one of the greatest understandings of who he was. And isn't that what Christmas is about? Understanding God so we could be reconciled to Him. It had to be done through a baby, born of a virgin, who was fully man and fully God. Giving us the chance to have earthly reconciliation with God through understanding the relationship of man and God, seen through this precious incarnation of God. 

Remember why we are celebrating Christmas. How did it change the world? How has it changed your world?

Loving you, 

Liz