Parkwood Presbyterian Church: From the Pastor, Dec. 2005

From the Pastor...
December 2005 - January 2006

Christmas Preparations

As I write this, there is early evidence of preparation for Christmas taking place. Lights are appearing on houses in the neighbourhood, wreaths are for sale in the supermarkets, and there is even a dusting of snow on the ground. In reading this, it may well be that you are in the process of planning for your celebration of Christmas this year.

In considering our preparations and planning, I was led to think back about what has contributed to happy memories of Christmas, and what has not.

On a personal level, being sick on Christmas Day was the worst. I have dim memories as a child of once being ill with the stomach flu, and being unable to hold up my head to look at my presents, and lying on the chesterfield totally uninterested in the Christmas feast on the table.

On a pastoral level, I have sat with families in hospital who have watched during the days and nights immediately preceding Christmas at the bedside of a dying loved one, or who have grieved the loss of a beloved parent or grandparent, or a child, in the days immediately prior to Christmas, or who have had to cope with funeral preparations in the days between the planned celebrations of Christmas and the New Year.

In such sad and trying circumstances, the one saving help and hope has been that in each situation, those involved have not had to face the situation alone. Family or friends have been there to share the burden.

What contributes to happy memories of Christmas celebrations is the presence of others -- family or friends -- whose words or gifts, music or laughter, have spiced the occasion, around the dinner table or the fireplace, out in the snow or inside in the living room.

All of this suggests that in our preparations, we do well to focus on presence rather than presents. Whose presence will enrich our Christmas? Whose Christmas might our presence enrich?

The Scriptures offer us an estimate of the value of friends:

"Two are better than one" ... If one falls down, his friend can help him up."

Few things can be more painful than having to face Christmas alone. Christmas is about "Immanuel -- which means 'God with us'" (Matthew 1: 23, NIV). In the birth of Jesus Christ, God is saying to us that He will not leave us alone, but will instead come to us. He wants us to know the joy of His presence. We are not to be alone, but are to have the sustaining presence of God in our lives.

Remembering that God is Spirit and that He resides in those who have welcomed Jesus into our hearts and lives, let us ask this question amid our preparations: "With whom shall we share the presence of God during this Christmas season?"

James T. Hurd