Do you ever wonder why you do the things you do at Christmas? Why do you have the traditions you do? Why do you spend all that time wrapping presents just so your kids can rip them all open in under ten seconds? Why do you spend all that time writing out Christmas cards? Why do you make seven different kinds of Christmas cookies and then give them all away? Why do you take your child to church every Saturday morning for a month to get ready for a half hour long Christmas program?
There is one answer to all of these questions. The answer is Jesus. If it wasn't for Jesus there would be no reason for any of it. It would just be empty meaningless ritual. Instead, our giving of gifts reminds us of the surprise gift we got that first Christmas. We make cookies to celebrate the birth of the Christ-child. We visit friends and relatives to remind them and ourselves of the love we have in Christ Jesus by sharing it with each other. We decorate our homes as we would decorate a baby's room at his or her arrival to welcome the baby Jesus into our homes and our lives. Even the colors we use, red signifying the blood of Jesus and green signifying the life that the blood of Jesus gave, truly do bring meaning to an otherwise empty and meaningless celebration of nothing.
As you go about your rituals and traditions this season, please think about why you do them. You may even want to get rid of them if they have become meaningless. You may want to teach your kids why you do them while you are doing them. Make this a truly meaningful holiday full of the real meaning of Christmas, Jesus the Christ, who came down to earth as a lowly child to live, suffer, and die for us. Have a blessed Advent!
Rev. Jeremy Klaustermeier
To God All Praise and Glory!
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