Advent Reflections: Day 12 - 12/13/2012

“Jesus did many other things as well.
If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even
the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
John 21:25 (NIV)

Reflection

During our celebration of Advent, we focus our attention on one glorious single moment of time. No other historical event has transformed our world more radically. When Christ came into the world, history from that moment on was changed forever. Even the concept of modern time revolves around this miraculous event. Throughout the Christmas Season, our devotion, focus and activities center around the birth of a baby born into obscurity and poverty. Christmas is a birthday celebration. The birth of Jesus Christ. The incarnation of God in human form.

As with any birth, Christmas is about beginnings. New life springing forth into humanity, both physically and spiritually. All of us celebrate our birthday each year. It’s a reminder of the miraculous moment that we came into the world and the exciting events that surrounded that day. We remember the birth of people we love, honor and respect. We celebrate birth because it reminds us of how precious life is. Birthdays cause us to reflect on life, and as we get older, birthdays can become a bit more reflective because lives become increasingly filled with memorable and life-transforming events.

Unfortunately, when our Christmas celebrations end, so does our devotion. Christmas comes to an end and we pack up and put away the decorations for another year. We return gifts and find room for the new stuff we’ve acquired. And as we clean up the house and take a deep breath to relax, we slowly slip back into life as usual. The problem is that some of us proverbially pack up Jesus as well. Advent will come to an end, and so does our devotional time.

“Jesus did many other things as well”. Let us commit to each other to continue sharing these stories in our families each and everyday. Let the spirit of Advent encourage us to move forward and remember that the birth of Christ is only the beginning.

Prayer

Lord, as we close our time together, let us be renewed in mind and spirit that the celebration of Christmas marks only the beginning of the life of Your Son, Jesus Christ. After the holidays are complete, let us commit to ourselves to the many other things He did as well.

Amen.