Make sure your Christmas does not end on
Dec. 26. Read this daily devotional to keep yourself grounded in liturgical spirituality.
Kay Murdy, author of the best-selling 90 Days, uses the Sunday and weekday readings
from the Roman Lectionary as the basis for daily reflections that take you from the first
day of Advent through the 12 days of Christmas to the Epiphany. Try it. You will have the
best Christmas ever!
Introduction
The Advent-Christmas-Epiphany season that we
celebrate as Christians is not just an observance of events that happened long ago. It is
not a sentimental birthday of the "baby Jesus." Nor is the season exclusively
future oriented, watching and waiting for the coming of the exalted Christ at the end of
time. The season is a celebration of God's self-disclosure in Jesus Christ, the eternal
Emmanuel -- God who was with the people in the past and who is with us now and for all
time to come. In Jesus, God's love is made visible. Everything Jesus said, did, and
suffered reveals God's love to us. The season takes its meaning from Christ's passion,
death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit. For three hundred years the
church celebrated no other aspect of Christ than this paschal mystery. Our Christmas
celebration takes its meaning from this mystery. The crib, the cross, and the crown are
closely connected.
Advent is a time of joyful anticipation of
the realization of God's promise. It is a grace-filled season of new hope, new life, and
new love. There is a sense of urgency in Advent that wakes us up from our complacency.
Advent should challenge us to prepare ourselves and our world for the full coming of the
kingdom of peace and justice.
Christmas is a time to celebrate the
fulfillment of God's promise, the one who took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The
child is given the name "Jesus," meaning "God is with us" to save us
from our sins. Christ is born so that we might be reborn to a life of grace. Christmas is
the affirmation of Emmanuel, who is always present to his people. Our celebration is about
more than the birth of a child; it is about the salvation of the world.
Christmas challenges us to live the kind of
life that God's kingdom demands now, with hope and promise for tomorrow. Christmas is not
just a day but a season that lasts twelve days. It continues through Epiphany and ends
with the Baptism of the Lord, a celebration of God's faithfulness manifested to the whole
world in Jesus Christ. Epiphany means a "recognition" of or "insight"
into a reality of something. Epiphany is about a journey and the one who guides our quest
to uncover the full meaning of Christ in our lives: the gift of God's love revealed
through the Word, prayer, worship, and sacrament. For those who have the eyes to see, it
is a time to perceive the signs of Christ's presence here and now -- the ordinary and
extraordinary appearances of the Lord in a star in the night sky, in strangers and
visitors from afar, in families and loved ones, in light and life, in bread, wine and
water, in Spirit and grace.
As we exchange gifts with our loved ones, we
must also prepare ourselves for the true gift of God's love. Do we accept God's gift with
gratitude? Do we proclaim the good news to others? How can we become more joyful, hopeful,
faithful lovers of ourselves, God, and others? Are we watching and preparing for Christ's
coming now and at the end of time? The preface for Advent reminds us to "Watch for
the day" so that our hearts may be "filled with wonder and praise" when the
Lord comes. Christ's coming will only be recognized by those who are alert to his
appearance every day. May this season of Emmanuel fill you with the Lord's abiding
presence.
Season
of Emmanuel