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Whose birthday is it anyway?
The question is of extreme importance to all of us who
profess to be followers of Christ.
It seems like in our day and time one of our most
significant holy days has been totally usurped by the dominant culture.
The decorations go up in the stores right after the Halloween masks are
taken down. The merchants begin the scramble for our bucks because
the “season” now accounts for 30-40 of their entire annual sales.
Now’s the time for merchandising. Fa-la-la-fa-la-la-la-la.
And right in the middle of all they hype is one of the
venerated saints of the church: Saint Nicholas. That there was a
real Nicholas in the fourth century, and that he was a bishop of the
church in Turkey, and that he had a reputation of doing good works for
people, goes unnoticed by the world around us they adopt our Santa Claus
for their reasons.
Amidst the noise around us, it is extremely important
for us to keep telling our stories, to keep singing our songs, to keep
doing our faith works. We know the absolutely only place the
story of Emmanuel will be told this year will be through us – and
churches like us.
In these days before Christmas, we will concentrate hard
on telling our stories and singing our songs here at Christ Church.
This is the only way the children will hear, this is the
only way many of our neighbors will ever hear, this is the only most of
our culture will hear. In a very real way, this is a message that we
hold in trust.
Without our proclamation, Christmas for most folks is
about trees and snowmen and lights and Grinches and reindeer and watches
and diamonds and Segos and the amassing of presents and gifts and trinkets
and toys and buttons and bows.
Clearly, the message of the cultural Santa Claus is not
our message. God’s gifts are in no way dependent upon our being
naughty or nice. (God never places lumps of coal in our
stockings.)
God is with us, we boldly proclaim. Emmanuel!
The trick is to discern his presence amid the noise and hoopla of
the season. Most folks look in all the wrong places -- if we look at
all.
During this Advent Season, our Sunday services are
designed to hone our senses and sharpen our discernment skills so we will
be less likely to miss Christ’s Presence in the busy-ness and business
of these days before Christmas.
Join us each Sunday, and be with us Christmas Eve –
remember, no presents until after you go to church Christmas
Eve.
Clyde Griffith
From The People’s
Steeple DECEMBER 1999
The People’s Steeple is a newsletter of Christ
Presbyterian Church – a center of faith in Drexel Hill,
Pennsylvania, for Living Abundantly
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