As I drive back and forth from home to the church I serve I pass by another church which has, on its lawn, a sort of tri-cornered sign. On one of the panels of this sign there is a picture of an Advent candle with the words, “Hope,” “Joy,” “Love,” and “Peace” (a typical Advent display) but then on a small banner underneath this Advent panel it reads, “Now with extended hours.”
I know where the Advent candle panel came from. We are still in the liturgical season of Advent; a time when we are supposed to prepare our lives for the coming of the Savior and so many churches have something “adventish” displayed somewhere either inside or, as in this case, on the church lawn. I also have some insight into the “extended hours” banner. I’ve been up and down this road enough to know that this church also runs a day care and the day care program now has extended hours.
So, it is my assumption that these two signs were not intended to be connected they just are displayed that way. At first I thought of this display as simply humorous but as I’ve thought more about it I’ve decided to take it as a bit of serendipity.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we would (or could) extend the amount of time we spend living out our hope and joy and love and peace? Just think about how our lives and our personal world would change if we spent more time hopefully, joyfully, lovingly and peacefully living our lives for people to see.
And on the other side of this conversation, wouldn’t it be nice if we could be certain that when we needed someone to love us or smile for us or say a hopeful word to us that it would be readily available because they were operating on extended hours?
Our lives can be so easily tied up in petty problems and momentary irritations that we miss all of the good things that are happening around us. Maybe it’s time to take the cell phone out of our ear and pay attention to all of the little bits of wisdom (even unintentional wisdom) that are lining the roadways of our lives. You might find something that will wake you up to a new way of living and the world will be a better place because of it.
It kind of reminds me of a baby in a manger and a world that was never the same. It was almost as if God were saying, “Hope, Joy, Love, and Peace now with extended hours.”
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
It's Christmas. Isn't It Wonderful?
I mentioned in last Sunday morning’s conversation that my mother hasn’t put up any kind of Christmas tree for years. The only thing that would suggest that my mother is celebrating Christmas is the nativity scene, a set that has always been a part of our family’s Christmas, which she has set up on her kitchen table. It’s not that she isn’t into Christmas it’s just that she doesn’t have a huge need to fill her apartment with lights and bulbs.
It’s possible that part of her attitude toward Christmas decorations goes back to her childhood. She told me that when she was a child there were no decorations in their home until Christmas day. Santa Claus brought everything with him on Christmas Eve and so she woke up on Christmas morning to a house that had been transformed overnight. Her childhood Christmas tree had candles instead of electric lights and they were only lit for a very brief time so she didn’t really have a lot of childhood memories of rooms full of Christmas baubles.
To be fair, my mother isn’t the only one who has decided not to over decorate for the holidays. I’ve run into a number of people (mostly older people) who have decided they didn’t want to bother with a tree and lights and I’m OK with all of that. After all we keep trying to remind people that Christmas is about more than the decorations and the parties.
However, over the years I have always thought it was kind of sad to not decorate for the day, which gives you an idea of how important the lights and baubles have become to me. It’s not that I need them “spiritually.” I don’t need lights and balls and evergreens to celebrate the birth of Jesus. My relationship with Him is not built upon tradition; it is built upon a spiritual connection that is bigger than anything I can hold in my hand.
But, I am afraid that I need them “emotionally.” They have become a link to the memories I have of Christmases past. In my head they are attached to footie pajamas, transformers and Nintendo games; to times when my children were small and there was wonder in their eyes. It’s kind of scary to think that strings of lights and balls of glass can have such a hold on my life, but they do.
The challenge for me (and maybe for all of us) is to keep the spiritual and the emotional parts of our lives straight. It doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice one in order to have the other, it just means that we need to see them for what they are. Like my mother, I don’t need the decorations to celebrate the birth of my Savior, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t important.
It might be best to remember that we are all complicated creatures and that Jesus understands the complications and is still willing to work in us, with us and through us. It’s Christmas. Isn’t it wonderful?
It’s possible that part of her attitude toward Christmas decorations goes back to her childhood. She told me that when she was a child there were no decorations in their home until Christmas day. Santa Claus brought everything with him on Christmas Eve and so she woke up on Christmas morning to a house that had been transformed overnight. Her childhood Christmas tree had candles instead of electric lights and they were only lit for a very brief time so she didn’t really have a lot of childhood memories of rooms full of Christmas baubles.
To be fair, my mother isn’t the only one who has decided not to over decorate for the holidays. I’ve run into a number of people (mostly older people) who have decided they didn’t want to bother with a tree and lights and I’m OK with all of that. After all we keep trying to remind people that Christmas is about more than the decorations and the parties.
However, over the years I have always thought it was kind of sad to not decorate for the day, which gives you an idea of how important the lights and baubles have become to me. It’s not that I need them “spiritually.” I don’t need lights and balls and evergreens to celebrate the birth of Jesus. My relationship with Him is not built upon tradition; it is built upon a spiritual connection that is bigger than anything I can hold in my hand.
But, I am afraid that I need them “emotionally.” They have become a link to the memories I have of Christmases past. In my head they are attached to footie pajamas, transformers and Nintendo games; to times when my children were small and there was wonder in their eyes. It’s kind of scary to think that strings of lights and balls of glass can have such a hold on my life, but they do.
The challenge for me (and maybe for all of us) is to keep the spiritual and the emotional parts of our lives straight. It doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice one in order to have the other, it just means that we need to see them for what they are. Like my mother, I don’t need the decorations to celebrate the birth of my Savior, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t important.
It might be best to remember that we are all complicated creatures and that Jesus understands the complications and is still willing to work in us, with us and through us. It’s Christmas. Isn’t it wonderful?
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