God of love, hope, grace and peace – Day 17

Everywhere in the media, we are reminded that time is running out to get our Christmas shopping done. Displays in shop windows are all trying to be better and brighter than the one next door in the race to get our attention. In our diaries are long lists of the things we need to do before the Christmas holiday arrives.

We, as Christians, are preparing for Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means a meeting or an arrival and refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the four Advent weeks and specifically the four Advent Sundays before Christmas, is to prepare our minds and hearts to commemorate the birth of Christ. This preparation has an entirely different emphasis than the one blared by the media and shopping malls. It is a time of quiet and reflection; a time to put our thoughts in order about the meaning of the coming of the Messiah; a time of fellowship with other believers to marvel at the extent of Christ’s love.

Let’s try, in the midst of all this turmoil, to set aside time to be calm and prepare our hearts for Christmas. Otherwise, it will just be like all the other years – a mad rush until we finally sit down to recover, exhausted, at the Christmas meal. Let’s create family time in our homes, a time to relax and take stock, and time of new focus and meaningful conversation. A time where the emphasis is on Christ’s sacrifice of love and a time when we focus on showing each other this kind of love.