Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Saturday, December 19, Evening
By Ann Reego
Feeling It
Read Psalm 43:3-4
“Send your light and your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling place. Then I will come to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise you with the lyre, God, my God.”
As I sit writing this in mid-October, I’m just not feeling very Christmasy. Too many issues to think about the birth of Christ and what it should mean to me. The election is a couple of weeks off; way too long in my opinion. Will it be safe to go to Florida to our daughter’s house for Thanksgiving? I’m scared to travel, but it’s been January since we last saw them. I love to cook, but right now I’d LOVE to go into a restaurant, sit down, and eat. I’m tired of ordering online and having to send it back because it doesn’t fit or isn’t how it looked in the catalog.
However, I’ll bet that things in 6 B.C. weren’t any better. Rome was in charge and many of the Jewish leaders were bending to their harsh treatment of the Hebrew people. Nobody liked the Romans being in charge … but what could they do? And that stupid census …! Mary had to be terrified about traveling while pregnant … most likely ON A DONKEY!!! Was it safe? Would she go into labor on the way? Would she live through delivery in a strange place? And, I’m sure Mary and Joseph were tired of the food that they had brought with them on the trip. The bread was probably stale, and the fruit and vegetables gone. Mary most likely longed for her home town and walking freely to the market, seeing friends and family along the way.
Have things changed much in over 2020 years? Are frustrations, desires, fears, and needs another gift of 2020, or are they a permanent part of the human condition?
All I know is that none of their fears, frustrations and desires stopped Mary and Joseph. She got on that donkey, Joseph walked beside her carrying their few belongings, and they started off. And what a trip they had! The baby was born, she survived, and she held in her arms the Son of God. What if they had given in to “not feeling Christmasy”?
So, I’m shaking off my doldrums, baking some cookies, putting on some carols, and thanking God for this season. Christmas comes whether you are ready or not. So you might as well feel Christmasy!
Prayer
Gracious God, lead us to clear our troubled minds and weary bodies for the coming of the Christ child. May we see the world in less anxious eyes, and truth in your love and care. Amen.
