The Excitement is Building
The most exciting thing about Christmas is expectation. Decorating the house, preparing special foods, and planning to travel or host visitors are exciting for children and adults. For some, lighting Advent candles each week until it is finally time to light the large white one in the middle of the wreath sparks anticipation. These reminders that Christmas is finally coming help build suspense until, eventually, after a restless night of sleep, it is Christmas morning. The wonder and surprise on the faces of little ones as they enter the living room to see the tree surrounded by countless gifts, some even with their name on them, is priceless!
Yet, there was very little expectation on the night the Christ child entered the world. Certainly, Joseph and Mary knew the time was close for a baby to be born, but they had little idea of the full implications of that event. The shepherds went to work that night as they did on every other night, with no idea that they would be met by a host of angels. And who can even imagine what they thought they might discover when they went to see this baby about whom the angels sang?
The season of Christmas wrapped up in our experience of anticipation and increasing excitement is undoubtedly enjoyable. It has become part of how we celebrate God’s entry into the world in Jesus. But the real gift of Christmas only occurs after the celebration is over.
Not until the skies returned to stillness, absent the song of the angels, and the star in the sky followed by Wisemen no longer stood out in the night sky, and the shepherds returned to their flocks just like every other night, did the gift of Christmas occur.
At this point, the significance of Christmas began to be realized. The lost were found, the broken were healed, the hungry were fed, and peace was proclaimed. The kingdom of God became a reality in the flesh.
That is the part we are asked to play as disciples of this Christ child. Our understanding of the transformational impact of that seemingly insignificant event, another baby being born (and this one in a room meant for animals), is what moves each of us to do our part to find the lost, heal the broken, feed the hungry, and proclaim peace to the nations.
While we will store decorations away for another year, Christmas will reverberate in how we choose to live when things are quiet again. May we continue to grow to allow the significance of Christmas to be demonstrated in our lives all year long.
Subscribe to the Mission Outreach Blog and be the first to read our bi-weekly updates.
Dan Kreiss, RPC’s Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach, brings with him a heart for service and a diverse array of experiences in the mission field. Be sure to subscribe to the Mission Outreach Blog to read and follow along as he documents his personal journey and shares his vision for RPC’s mission outreach commitment. Along with providing meaningful resources, this blog will help jumpstart the important conversations our church community must be having about missional living.
Dan Kreiss
Rev. Dr. Dan Kreiss is the Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach at RPC. Dan is particularly passionate about encouraging the church to reflect the diversity found in its surrounding community in regard to age, gender, ethnicity, education and economic status.