November 5, 2016 – 49 Days Until My Head Explodes, Or Devotions to Prepare Us For Christ’s Coming

Oh, look at this  little party animal.  Juggling is cool, after all, especially when you’re doing it just to spell the word “party.”   But seriously, anyone could juggle if we all had a single, circular arm that stretched from one shoulder to the other, so just get over yourself.   Actually, the blob-like torso melting into the party banner makes one  think the monster from The Thing got confused  and is now attending or performing at a children’s birthday party.

Christmas is a party, but not an excuse to spend beyond our means, drink beyond our limits, or schedule ourselves beyond our abilities.  Too much of our time this Christmas season will be about doing, and not contemplating.  It is good to share the holiday spirit, but if this makes you exhausted, then perhaps you need to prioritize your Christmas celebrations.

Do you realize that every time we share the communion wine and bread with each other as part of a worship service, we are attending a party?  Christ intended the act of communion as a “foretaste of the feast to come.”  And that feast will be part of the heavenly party that awaits all who die in the faith.  The birth narratives of Jesus provide the imagery of people celebrating and giving glory to G-d, the angel announcing the birth of Jesus being joined by a great multitude of the heavenly host singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”  It sure sounded like a party then, and it should be a party now—but not a party of the secular kind, but a party of the heavenly kind.   And so we celebrate the birth of Jesus with worship, singing, sharing food and other gifts, and praising G-d. 

There is a lot to juggle this Christmas season – just don’t let the “busy-ness” of the season to distract you from the “business” of grasping a foretaste of the feast to come as often as you can.

Pastor Dave