The Work of Christmas Begins

on December 24, 2010 by Walt Dilg

We have had a glorious Christmas!  What a joy it was to hear the story told once again as it has been for generations and generations, warming hearts and stirring hopes, and to see all the children gathered for the tableau, living into it as if it were their story… well it is!  It is our story.  Jesus came for the ages, came for us, to launch us forward into a new life and a new creation.

I like the glow Christmas gives to January.  Home and hearth feel a bit more cozy and comforting, safe and secure.  Yet for many, this time of year is the harshest – for they are without shelter from the storm, they are alone in the face of all sorts of insecurities.   It is now that the joy of Christmas becomes purposeful, taking on a more outwardly directed meaning for us all – the work of Christmas begins.  Howard Thurman wrote:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and prices are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins.

As enjoyable as the holidays are, God shared God-self for greater goods – for the changing of lives, for the changing of the world.

We have the opportunity to live into God’s vision of the meaning of Christmas these next weeks.  During this time between Christmas and Lent, this season of Epiphany, we are invited to see what God was doing in Jesus and is continuing to do with the Christ while realizing the importance of our partnership now in making it happen.  We are invited to serve, to make God’s love real through our lives to others.

Many service opportunities are available through the church and in our community, though primary among them right now is the Interfaith Shelter, which we host January 15 – 29.  Anne Robertson is our point person on this service project, and is in need of helpers to put up & tear down the set-up, provide dinners, and be overnight hosts.  I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to live out the meaning of Christmas.  You are needed and you might discover that you also need this – it will help Christmas live on in your life.  Let the work of Christmas begin!

Grace upon grace,

Walt