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.
