December 20, 2006
Acts of Martha
Christmas Christmas
Oh it’s that time of year where the Martha work crescendo is about to culminate at the feet of Jesus. Move over Mary. Christmas is a beautiful Holy day and it is jointly celebrated with a holiday for families by the same name but we don’t call it Christmas Christmas. Even Christians can get a little confused. The hustle bustle of the holiday part of Christmas is a love story gone slightly askew. We get all bunched up trying to create a beautiful place to celebrate making sure there are gifts for all, and scrumptious food prepared for family and friends. There are parties to attend and cards to send to wish far away loved ones well. There are cookies to bake, lights to string, trees to trim, popcorn to pop, mistletoe to hang, and shop, shop, shop, wrap, wrap, wrap and smile, smile, smile. . Our hearts want to reach out to others with food, clothing, prayer, acts of kindness, love and we want to sing, sing, sing. The list of “to do’s” can sometimes seems endless
Years ago when fresh 6’ Christmas trees were still $14.99 at Frank’s nursery in Ann Arbor, Michigan, we set out to choose the perfect tree. Young, though the family was, we had six very strong oppositional opinions eagerly expressing there views simultaneously. To the outside ear it may have appeared this family was argumentative. Ok, they were right. The lively dialog continued all the way home and until the tree was completely decorated. We all sat back to admire the work of art. I think God must have kicked the tree over. We watched in horror as the Christmas tree crashed to the ground and the pretty blue and gold ornaments smashed to smithereens while the strings of cranberries and pop-corn and glittery tinsel flew all over the room. The silence expressed our disgrace. Where did we loose Christmas? Coach Wonderful began to read Luke chapter 2. Listening to the Christmas story my heart grew heavy with sorrow for how I steered our family astray. God sent His Son into this world as a baby, dependent on human kind. To believe in Jesus is to take His love every where we go – for others to see His love in everything thing we do – Sometimes I get a busy momentum going and I go sideways from the Lord. Whenever that takes place Lord – PLEASE – kick over my tree. And Mary – move over I want to sit at Jesus feet and listen too.
A pearl to string: And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" Luke 2:8-14
The tiny Baby in the manger is the mighty Creator of the universe
Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas
Lyndi
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