I don't know about you, but I'm still trying to get ready. Those people who get their Christmas shopping done early are a mystery to me. At any rate, last night, after mailing over 200 Christmas cards and wrapping gifts the rest of the day, I made list of what is remaining. And what day is this? 12/22? Okaaaaayyy...
Reflecting this morning, I thought about that moment when one of the younger family members is dispersing the gifts. Every now and then, there's a gift with no tag, or the kid can't read it, or whatever and the question is asked, "Who's This For?"
All this frantic preparation, all this running around....who's this for? Most seasons I feel like an unwilling character in a dramatic play, caught up in the tsunami we call The Christmas Season. Most of the time, I am exhausted, perplexed and uninspired. It all feels like drudgery. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Or, is it the most frantic time of the year, finishing up the year in a cataclysm of performancism? (Add a strategic extra "i" in there, and you find "manic" imbedded in that word - - just sayin'...)
And who's it for? Well, if I'm honest, it's often an offering to the idol of my pride. It's to "keep up appearances", under the pretense of "giving because God gave His Son to us". Doesn't that sound all churchy and spiritual?
Sometimes I think that all of our holiday "striving" is to try to replicate the grandeur which cannot be exceeded - - - the mystery of The Immaculate Conception, or the beauty of that "Silent Night": the glory of the angels cracking open the heavens, the wonder of the stable delivery room in which was heard God's first cry. It's a futile effort because that beauty and glory and majesty can only be produced by the one, true God, making the miracle called Christmas.
That's why I chose to focus each morning of Advent on Him (even though it did not happen every day or always in the morning), to reflect on The Gift, the reason for all of this falderal, for all of this fa-la-la-la-la. Otherwise, what's the point? The Season is already crazy enough. There's got to be some quiet candlelight, some peace somewhere. And, the only place to find that meaning, that peace, that grace is in His presence, which is the essence of Christmas. God came down in the form of a baby, to dwell among men. We bow our hearts at His manger, in awe-full worship.
Ann Voskamp talks about how Mary became a willing dwelling place for God, not by force, but by her assent. "Let this happen to me according to your word," she replied to the angel, Gabriel (Luke 1:38). Similarly, my prayer is this: "Let me be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, to take hold of His grace, birthed anew in me this season." When we re-frame our "holiday attitudes", we can truly be ready for Christmas because His grace is sufficient for every situation, seasonal or not. When we open our hearts to receive Him, we are filled with His Spirit, overcome by His grace, a grace like no other, the only grace which brings peace.
There was no room in the inn for the little family - - - Mary, Joseph and the soon-to-be born Son. Is there room in my heart this Christmas season for Him?
Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's hone was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
Emily E. Elliott, 1864.
Here is a beautiful rendition:
Dear Holy Father, please don't let us miss this! Let there be room in our hearts for the simple, yet glorious. Please don't let this precious time pass by without our bowing our hearts in worship before The Child. Oh, come to our hearts, Lord Jesus. We are making room. Let our hearts be Your sanctuary. Only in this way, can we truly celebrate Your birth, can we truly worship. In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
Voskamp, Ann. The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas.
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