My beloved Mt. Tam Church,
Last week I got caught in bad traffic coming home from the East Bay. By God’s grace, I remembered that it was the first day of KOIT radio station playing all Christmas music, which seemed like the absolutely perfect antidote to going 5 miles an hour on I-80 through Berkeley. For the next hour and a half, I felt like they had selected a “Kim Smith’s greatest hits” of Christmas music, from Bing Crosby crooning “White Christmas” to Elvis’ “Blue Christmas.” What a God-shot! By the time I got home, I had heard every Christmas carol there is to hear…and they were starting back through the line-up again!
I know you have had this experience…the endless carols on soundtracks crowded shopping centers and roads, many engagements crammed into 3-4 short weeks as we celebrate “the holidays.” By the end of it, we can’t wait for the finish. Yet every year, we ‘start back through the line-up’ and begin the season with joy and cheer. How do we keep that spirit going? What might help us keep engaged in the wonder and delight?
My suggestion–get knee-deep into Advent. For Christmas is still to come and as Christ’s people, we journey through Advent purposefully–so we may be prepared for the coming of the Christ Child. So, in the midst of the joyful chaos of the season, take a break–Advent it up! Read the Christmas story from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. Ponder what it means for the Christ to be born to you. Strive to remember that Christmas itself is a church season that starts on December 25th! And today is Advent….expectations and anticipations of the birth. Prepare your heart, your home and your self for His coming. And enjoy the peace that can come as we wade together, knee-deep in Advent.
Peace,
Pastor Kim
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