Friday, December 28, 2018

Christmas Observance-2018

 It being December 26th I'm sure that most of you may be almost Christmas Out by now.
For the past four weeks you have been stringing Christmas lights, listening to Christmas Music on the radio, been to church and heard the Christmas story, saw the choirs sing, you have written Christmas Cards until your hand hurts, watched movies on the Hallmark Channel, celebrated at the Company Christmas party with people you don’t even like, and you have done so much Christmas shopping your credit card melted.
You cooked all day so your family and friends could all come to your house to feast on all of the Christmas favorites. You gathered around the tree open presents and your guests departed.
You are left with a mountain of dirty dishes, you see a candy cane stuck to one of the draperies, that must have been left by one of the kids, you can hear the dog barking but you can’t see him, for he is stuck in a pile of torn Christmas paper somewhere in the living room.
All of those efforts for December are focused on that one day…Christmas.
For those of us here who are Christians or Knight Templars who are Christian Masons, the reason why we celebrate Christmas is summed up in the Holy Bible in  the Book of John: 1-6.

But what about the day after Christmas and the rest of the year? Today is December 26, 2018 and we are in a similar situation as the day after Christ was born in Bethlehem in that manger.
The Angels stopped singing, the Shepard’s had to return to their flocks and deal with crabby sheep, along with stepping in sheep poop. The Magi and the Three Kings got back on their camels and headed home. Mary and Joseph were busy packing and escaping to Egypt for an Angel had told them that King Harrod was going to kill the Baby Jesus.
We too must return to the office, the factory, our family duties, and the hum drum of our daily lives.
The meaning of Christmas is not a “One Day and Done Kind of Deal”. The lesson that we can learn comes from the Shepherds as described in Luke 2:16-20 which advised we keep the message of Christmas alive with us all year long.
While the shepherds saw the baby Jesus, stood and worshiped near the Christ Child, it did not change that they had to return to their fields and sheep along with dealing with stepping in sheep poop.  But, by seeing the baby Jesus and seeing God’s promise fulfilled, it changed them deeply and profoundly and how they saw things and delt with everything in life.
By proclaiming the Good News that Christ has come
By wondering at Gods amazing plan for all of human kind
By Pondering the works of God
By Glorifying God in our daily lives


Let us take the meaning of Christmas beyond the 25th of December, find love and peace in Jesus Christ, and have a wonderful life every day along with Christmas day.