Shout and Be Glad!

Zechariah 2:10“Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD.

One of my favorite Christmas time movies is “Christmas Vacation.”  There are some very special scenes that will always get a laugh out of me.  And one scene that I, and anyone who has had a large group of family members come visit for the holidays, can relate to is the scene where the doorbell rings announcing the arrival of the relatives.  It rings once at the normal doorbell tone.  And then again, at a slightly lower and more ominous sounding tone.  And then again, lowering in tone.  Even more ominous than before  Finally the door is opened and there are the relatives, arguing away about some trivial thing like where to park the cars.  I find it to be a very funny scene.  The underlying dread the Griswold family characters have for the impending arrival of the relatives is fully realized. 

How differently we await Christmas Day when we celebrate the birth of our Savior than the Griswold’s await their family’s arrival.  We await with joy.  We celebrate in a number of different ways.  As we have seen in our Advent services over the years at Grace.  We learned how Christmas is prepared for and celebrated in Sweden and Germany.  We heard of the legend of St Lucia, and of Tomte the Christmas gnome.  I still chuckle over the little Ole and the kidnapping of Jesus’ Mother joke.  These are the warm memories that were shared with our congregation.  This is how they prepare and celebrate with shouts of joy. 

The arrival of the Savior is so different than when relatives come to visit.  It is certainly not something for us to dread.  And I wonder if we make it an occasion to dread with our own traditions.  We heap so many expectations upon ourselves.  Think about all the planning of activities, shopping for gifts, decorating the inside and outside of our houses, wrapping gifts, writing and mailing Christmas cards, attending so many social functions.  The list gets bigger and bigger every year.  Need I go on?  Our busy-ness can literally suck the life out of our holiday spirit.  It can kill our joy!   We shout, but only with frustration.  And yet, that is not what the Advent season is all about.  We are beginning the new year for the church.  We are eagerly awaiting that most precious of days, the day we celebrate the birthday of Jesus!  This is the time when our worship can become filled with joy and anticipation.  It can be a time of great reflection.  It can, and should be a time of intense gratitude for the gift we were given in that manager in Bethlehem.  The Son of God, born of a virgin.  The King of the Jews who was born in a lowly manger.  The Savior of all mankind placed in swaddling clothes.  And yet, we dread this time of year.  Maybe it is time to take a fresh look at what we are going about and doing in preparation for Christmas.  Truly it is to be a time of celebration, reflection and shouts of joy.  After all it is not every day that we celebrate the arrival of the most precious of infants.  Happy Birthday Jesus!

PRAYER:  Lord God, heavenly Father, create in us a glad heart.  Move us with your spirit to welcome the wonder of this season.  Help us to sort out the wheat from the chaff in our lives as we approach the celebration of Christmas.  Help us O God to remember to shout with joy.  This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.