We normally think of Christmas as ending the year. But for Christians the year starts with Christmas. OK, the year starts with Advent, but Advent is about preparing ourselves for the celebration of Christ's birth.
The Incarnation is God becoming human, being so close that humans were actually able to touch God. If we prepare for and celebrate Christmas well it should result in our being more deeply connected to God.
But too often we finish our Christmas celebrations feeling farther from God, not closer. We're cranky and exhausted. Our Advent season has been filled with commercial and family preoccupations. Advent and Christmas are emptied of the very Presence that was meant to fill them with meaning and wonder. And we start the New Year more aware of the barrenness of winter rather than filled with new hope for the year.
As the Advent season draws to a close consider how you can make time for God in the next few days before Christmas. Take a few minutes each day to simply be with God, to look for him around you. Stop your work at home or in the office and look at the world around you with different eyes.
Jesus is all around us: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." May your Advent and Christmas open the door to a new year filled with His presence.
Friday, December 21, 2012
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