And so the homestretch is here. By now many of us have already attended all of our Christmas parties – Sunday School classes, offices, deacons’, choir, family and friends, and so on.
All of the parties and Christmas functions are important in that they remind us (some more overtly than others) that Jesus was not just a gift to us individually, but to the community, and even to all of humanity, and therefore should be shared with the community and others. But enough of them to attend that we can become dizzy from it all.
Adding to this busy-ness, we have probably already bought or made most of our Christmas presents by now, too. And after we are done checking our bank accounts, and coming to grips with the idea that we will probably never be hungry again, most of us are left wondering what we will do with these last few days before Christmas arrives. It is the Christmas homestretch.
Here is an idea: do what Mary did. The gospel of Luke tells us over and over again that as significant things happened in Jesus’ life, and particularly at his birth, that she pondered them in her heart. She did not live by the moment and live reactively to what was taking place. Nor did she make big plans for the future based on what she heard and experienced. She chose to ponder and think about them, letting the significance of the moment sink in so that she could grasp, as best she could, what was taking place in her midst.
Maybe with these few days left, the best thing for us “to do” is ponder the gift of Jesus Christ, to ponder the story, to take time and meditate on it, so that it does not become a fleeting thought, or a shallow, “just get me through the holidays” time. Maybe pausing for a few minutes each day “to ponder” might give Christmas the chance to do in our own lives what it did for the world when Jesus was born: to hit the “reset” button, and in fresh ways see and experience the beauty of Christ with us.
So enjoy these last days before Christmas, and may worship be a special experience of God’s working in your life.
Blessings, Sonny