Ever ask yourself why Christmas Eve services are so well attended? Both of ours were full houses. I'm sure it was the same for churches all over the Rochester area, all over New York, all over America, all over the world. True, some of it here is due to kids coming home to be with parents. Some of it is the Christmas-Easter crowd. But some of it is the goosebump-seeking, recover-the-tummy-tingling excitement of our childhood crowd.
This year was cooperating to the fullest extent. There was just the right touch of "snow on the ground, flakes in the air (not enough to make travel dangerous), economy OK, no major world tragedy infringing on the enjoyment" to encourage expectations. Perhaps this would be the year we would experience that sought-after feeling of joyous happiness we so long for.
After all, life is tough. Work is boring at best, painful at worst. Money is tight - money is always tight. Relationships flounder and break, friends come and go, people pass in and out of our lives, health issues impinge on our comfort. Its hard to be happy when things stink.
So we come every year to that moment upon which we hinge all our expectations that we will be granted a moment of joy, a goosebump inducing, good memory recalling, shared with friends moment that will restore our hope that somehow in the future we will have it better. Things will improve. Our days will be filled with happiness.
And so we come, our hearts on our sleeves, daring the world to step aside and let us relive our childhood innocence just for one night, for one solitary night while we worship at the creche, the ultimate symbol of hope in a world gone dark. Please let our burdens be lifted for one night, nay for one hour of the night while we stand with others, holding a tiny candle of light in a dark room, singing Silent Night, Holy Night.
Our plea. Our moment to set aside the business of life and take a moment to pour out our sorrows to a God we hope is still there. Please, God. Don't forget us. Don't give up on us, even though we haven't been in touch much. Please still be there.
Did it happen for you? Did you catch a glimpse of the hope we all so desperately need? Did you connect the celebration of the birth of Christ with the ultimate deliverance of the world from sin, sickness, and disaster?
You don't have to wait for Christmas Eve to have your hope substantiated. Its a good place to begin though. But don't let it stop there. Hang on to Jesus the whole year through. Let His perspective become yours. See the victory. Know His love. Read the end of the book - we win.
Merry Christmas.
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