Christmas Eve changes for us as we grow older. As children we stay up waiting impatiently for Santa. We run downstairs at the break of dawn and eagerly await our riches. As parents, Christmas Eve takes on a different tone; we stay up late wrapping and organizing presents from Santa. We look forward to the light in our children’s eyes--all the while dreading the early morning wake up call.
As a priest Christmas Eve is about speaking to those who only venture into the church building twice a year. It’s about telling a story that millions have heard over and over again in a new way. It’s about helping people rediscover their childhood. Not a belief in the great St. Nick who will bless them with presents, but the belief in the miracle of Christ. A restoration of belief in the God who cares for them no matter how far they have they have strayed from that embrace. Belief in the God who can work miracles, and love unconditionally and a God who working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
It is the job of a preacher I think to make us all like children again, who are willing to believe not only in the miracles of Christmas, but more importantly, in the miracle of Christ. That’s my goal this Christmas: to get to know Christ again through the eyes of child willing to believe in the bigness of our God.
Rev. Jill
No comments:
Post a Comment