This Christmas, find the light, the love, the joy, the peace
By Rev. Laurie Hill,
St. John United Church of God
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[December 08, 2022]
Christmastime
is a time for nostalgia. This is a blessing and a curse. It’s a huge
blessing because we remember fondly all the good memories which
surround Christmas and hope to repeat those rituals, traditions,
stories, and add even more joy every year. Our expectations build.
Our hope overflows. |
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Our memories sometimes motivate us toward kindness
and compassion.
Sometimes, if we have painful holiday memories, we still are
nostalgic. We long for what could have been and perhaps we strive to
correct our past by making better memories in the future. If grief
floods us during the holidays, we hold onto our memories even more
tightly. If strife and conflict haunt us, we strive to create a
joyful or at least quiet way of celebrating holidays.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph who had to travel
there to be counted in a census. I remember what it was like in my
ninth month of my pregnancies, one of the most difficult months.
Walking or riding on a donkey or horse would’ve been horrendous.
Delivering a baby in the proverbial stable would also be
unbelievably frightening for a young girl.
Because I know what faith and love can do, I’m hoping there was a
midwife and faithful, loving people around them. I try to fill in
the “rest of the story” in my mind to make it not-so-terrifying in
my mind. Each year, we bring out our nativity sets, with a loving
Mary and Joseph overlooking baby Jesus, with such care and love.
That is part of our nostalgic story of Christmas when we think about
the “reason for the season”. The trees, gifts, decorations, parties,
concerts, all are festivals of joy celebrating the birth of a baby
who eventually revolutionized the world.
Amongst our blessings and curses this Christmas; the joy and the
grief, the strife and the comfort, the cookies, and the broken
ornaments, I invite you to remember the night our Jesus was born. It
was not an easy or pretty night. It was a difficult and scary time.
Yet, this scary cursed event became the light and love for the whole
entire world! That way, no matter the hard, difficult, scary, or
broken expectations we may feel at Christmas, the light of Christ
can be reborn into our hearts again and again and again.
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Find the light! Find the love! Find the joy! Find the
peace!
Even if it’s a just a moment or a memory, hold on to it! For it is
there that the newborn Christ lives within your own heart! Peace be
with you!
Rev. Laurie Hill
St. John United Church of Christ
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