Friday, November 25, 2016

Walk Slowly Through Christmas

The words came to me this morning as I have been thinking about and mulling over the Christmas season.  I’ve read the lyrics to a dozen carols, I’ve revisited a hundred scriptural texts and read thoughts by other writers and this is what I’ve come up with.

Walk Slowly Through Christmas.  Walk very slowly, for if we rush, we might miss the cues, the sights, the smells, the sounds, and the hints of God’s love story that is for all of mankind.  ALL mankind – Americans-white or black, Hispanic, Asian, Jew, Gentile, Muslim, Greek, French, South African, German, Brit, Canadian, Russian, Latvian, and everybody else I’ve left out.  We are all included in this great story of love and redemption at Christmas.

Here is a sample of what I mean.

“Christ is reaching out to us today.  He is reaching through the chaos of our world, through the confusion of our minds.  He is reaching … longing to share with us … the very being of God.” 

This sounds as if it was written last week.  It was written in the seventies by Gloria Gaither, yet note the relevancy, the hope and the desire for today.” 

Another:
“From the azure halls of heaven to a lowly manger stall,
Jesus came, and here He gave His life for all”

There it is, in a Christmas song, the story of redemption, the story of hope and forgiveness.  That one could be easily missed.  Walk slowly. 

Remember this?
“The Word was made flesh, He lived among us, and we saw His glory, the glory that is His as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth”

How about this?
“O come to my heart Lord Jesus.  
There is room in my heart for Thee”


And this:
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy” The wise men weren’t just happy, mildly so.  They were exceedingly joyful.  They were jumping with joy.  When is the last time you let out exceeding great joy?  That must have been something to see. 

“Fear not!”  How many times in the Christmas portions of the scriptures do we read these words? 
Angel Gabriel to Mary
Angel to the shepherds on the hillside
Angel to Joseph to “be not afraid to take Mary as your wife”

One of the great messages of Christmas is this … Have No Fear!

I love this one …
“How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven
No ear may hear His coming,
but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
the dear Christ enters in”

And this …
Cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today

Perhaps my favorite of all:
Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth good will to man

Take a slow stroll through Christmas this year.  Look for the old to become new, the tired and worn phrases that suddenly jump out with freshness, and listen with renewed ears to the songs of the season, both sacred and secular.  Hear the joy, the hope, the love and the optimism.

Merry Christmas!


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