Advent 2 - December 8, 2011

Text: Psalm 37:1-11 (see below)

Are you ready for Christmas?

I found myself at the mall last night looking for a bite to eat before a meeting. I was struck by watching the people dash past me with their shopping treasures. Many looked harassed, hurried, and my guess is that they wished they were doing something else. Has the hassle of the season gotten to you?

There is an old world custom that all of our preparations for Christmas are to be completed by the Feast of Saint Thomas which is on Wednesday, December 21. The logic was that having completed all of the preparations by that day, a Christian would have time in the last days of Advent to prepare their heart and mind for the arrival of the Christ child. As the psalmist declares in today’s psalm: “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

The world in which we live is quite different where we have been besieged by 24/7 Christmas music before Halloween; schedules that are filled with parties and gatherings; and an endless list of things to be accomplished by December 25. Many arrive at Christmas Eve exhausted with a sense of relief that everything got finished on time.

Okay… if we can meet the December 25^th deadline, why is it impossible to think that we could not complete our “lists” by December 21. If you have been reading these posts, you understand that I believe it is important to set aside some time each day to reflect on what we are going to celebrate on December 25. Forget about the gifts you are planning to give to your loved ones. What are you going to give to the Christ child this year? Your time? Your attention?

A Haiku found in a side chapel at Salisbury Cathedral offers wisdom to our preparation for Christmas.

Be

Silent

Still, Aware

for their in your own heart

the Spirit is at Prayer.

Listen and Learn

Open and Find

Heartwisdom

Christ!

Love One Another – Brian

Thirteen Days to Saint Thomas Day

Simplicity Brings Sanity

Richard Foster

Simplicity brings sanity to our compulsive extravagance, and peace to our frantic spirit. It liberates us from what William Penn called "cumber." It allows us to see material things for what they are--goods to enhance life, not to oppress life. People once again become more important than possessions. Simplicity enables us to live lives of integrity in the face of the terrible realities of our global village.

Source: Freedom of Simplicity

Psalm 37:1-11

1 Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers, ² for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. ⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
   trust in him, and he will act. ⁶ He will make your vindication shine like the light,
   and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
   do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
   over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
   Do not fret—it leads only to evil. ⁹ For the wicked shall be cut off,
   but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
   though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there. ¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land,
   and delight in abundant prosperity.