Recently, I read an article about some folks who’ve started a movement called, ‘The Advent Conspiracy’.
It’s a big effort to help us all to see the true meaning of Christmas and not get caught up in the stress and commercialism of Christmas as an industry. http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091215/us_time/08599194759000
I posted the link on facebook and got some interesting responses to it:
Elaine: That’s the best thing I’ve read today.
Melissa: I know, imagine how different it would be if parents just spent quality time with their kids instead of buying crap that encourages them to be little hermits in their bedrooms playing video games.
Bob: Imagine if parents just told their children they loved them, and their children believed them.
It’s my gut feeling that folks of all colors, creeds and backgrounds long for something different during this season. There’s something about this time of year that gives us reason to pause and become more reflective. Christians and non-Christians alike get caught up in that Christmas spirit . . . it’s that feeling of a little tug in your heart that longs for something more, something true and beautiful and fresh and pure, a burst of light and hope.
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Truth be told, we long for that feeling in all seasons of life, but I guess the Christmas spirit becomes so infectious that in our humanity we find our own ways to create rituals that would fill this longing, like giving gifts and putting up decorations that shine and sparkle. But whether your Christmas is dysfunctional or like a Halmark commercial, these rituals never quite fill the void, do they?
What a wonderful thing it is that God would come to us in the very package which can fill the void: a new, beautiful, true and pure little baby, a burst of light and hope. Christ, the embodiment of love.
My Christmas wish and prayer is inspired by what Bob said: that we would all hear God telling us how much He loves us and that we would believe Him.
