The other day I made the biggest mistake - or so it seemed - of my entire life! I went to Toys R Us a few days before Christmas ! O my goodness - the chaos, the bedlam, the sheer madness. I should have known it was going to be an experience and a half for as I was walking in, people were walking out with the dazed look that simply yelled out “run for your life while you can.”
As I made my way thru the isles of toys, bumped past shopping cards abandoned almost in a sense of hopelessness, as I paused every few minutes - well for oxygen - I finally encountered another exasperated adult who just looked at me and said “ Wow, Toys R Us must live for this day, it must be everything they prepare for all year round”.
First, let me say - I survived Toys R Us - barely - but I survived. Second, I discovered something: that even at Toys R Us there is a Christmas Lesson - and here it is: Christmas - We live for this day! It must be everything we prepare for !
Its so true ! We don’t come on Christmas to observe or even just celebrate with carols and hymns. As Disciples of Jesus we come on Christmas to Experience :
■ to experience hope in the night
■ to experience a peace which surpasses chaos
■ an overwhelming experience of God’s love
Now we have spent Advent waiting - for some that waiting may have shown itself in a little hint, an elbow or nudge here and there, hoping for a gift to be under the tree. But for others - there has been a deeper longing:
waiting for a new job or financial security
waiting for a new home or an acceptance letter into a college, university
waiting for a new relationship or to repair the one that we have
waiting for a new year - 2013 gotta be better than 2012
waiting for suffering to end or grief to subside
waiting for life to make sense, or our world to calm down
waiting for hope, peace
waiting for an answer to the ultimate question - Why?
Maybe we have come - and well - chaos has been a partner this year with us; maybe not as bad as the chaos at Toy R Us - or maybe worse. So Christmas is here !
Have you come to just observe?
Have you come to just celebrate ?
Have you come to just survive? - or maybe - just maybe - you have come to experience!
★ The hope of Christ which is ours if we seek it
★ That unspeakable joy of Christ which is ours if we claim
★ That unquenchable love of Christ which is ours if we make it our own
But we have to choose to experience it !
We come to truly experience Christmas because - well simply - because We live for this day! It must be everything we prepare for ! It is an eternal gift!
Tyler and Timmy, five year old twins, were sitting in their beds getting ready one night for their dad to come in and tuck them into sleep. Dad was a bit delayed because he was helping mom put their new born baby brother to sleep and it was taking a few minutes.
Tyler said to Timmy. "Mom and Dad seem happy with our new baby brother." "Ya," said Timmy, "but I think they were hoping for a girl." "Oh" said Tyler, "I see - well why don’t they return him and get a girl instead?" "Na" said Timmy - "we can’t return him - we have used him too much already."
God’s great gift - His only Son - Jesus Christ - is not a gift He will take back. His Light Shines...even in the sadness and madness of our world today. No Fiscal Cliff will cause the gift to be returned. No Madness in a Sandy Hook will cause Him to be extinguished and returned. His Light Shines...even in the sadness and madness of our world today. Jesus is here. We gather because His Light Shines - born in the manger - here for you and for me - - not to use, or just to observe or even celebrate with or about - but to fully experience.
Come experience Him this Christmas - don’t just use this gift - live it the gift - and do so in Hope. Hope in the experience of Christmas - it is found in hope with Christ! My prayer for you this Christmas - well its simple:
That just like on that first Christmas morning - as the angels came hovering, the star came shining over that simple manger - that God’s Holy Spirit will hover over your family this Christmas. That you will experience - truly experience Christmas - with its hope, with its light, with its joy, with its peace. 'Cause if my prayer is heard - well - this will be your best Christmas !