The other night we came home from the staff Christmas party where we had one of those white elephant gift exchanges. It was a fun time. We laughed a lot. Well, you know how fun gift exchanges can be. At first I ended up with a small ceramic painted cow. At the very end I was able to exchange the painted ceramic cow for a dog toy. This was great news for our dog Sully. He just loves dog toys. He has several toys that are made of rubber and squeak, but he loves stuffed toys. Upon getting a new one he carries it around for days. Showing it to all of us, then he will sit down and un-stuff it. But what is so cool is how excited he gets about a new toy. He also somehow knows that it is for him. I did not even get the toy out of the bag and he knew there was a toy for him in it. Upon getting the toy he truly celebrated. It is such a simple thing. He knows that it is for him and he gets so excited.
As I travel though the Advent season I just wish I would be filled with anticipation and excitement. I wish I had as much anticipation and excitement as my dog has about a simple little stuffed toy. To be filled with genuine excitement about Christ’s coming is such a blessing; yet, the cares of this world try to crowd Him out. Shopping to do, parties to go to, yearend reports. You know the drill. And it seems that is what Christmas becomes, a drill. So all joy and anticipation is drained, and we put our heads down and hold our breath until it is all over—or maybe it is just me.
The early church fathers point to spiritual growth coming from re-examination. That is why we have the church calendar. So we can circle back to the important. Worship to the Hebrew people was about remembrance. They worshiped by remembering the mighty acts of God. But it was more than just a remembrance as in what happened many years ago. It is a remembering and a connection to what God is doing today. When I consider that my remembering includes God’s acts today, I get excited. I get filled with anticipation as to what God will do next. I need to remember.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2:8-11)
