The story of Christmas is one of restoring a relationship. Jesus Christ, the second member of the Triune God, was born as a human not only to remove our sin and usher in God’s kingdom but to restore the broken relationship between God and humanity. Our loving Father wants not only to save us, but to once again be with us. As we are loved, we become people of love, and our relationships to one another are restored as we practice humility, repentance, and forgiveness. Christmas is a time when we enjoy time with one another.
Except, it’s not.
There’s simply to much to do: shopping, wish lists, errands, baking, closing out the year. Our labor to get everything ready to be together crowds out the point of it all: to be together! Instead the busyness, noise, and expectations leave us weary, spent, and distracted. Today’s activity is to carve out time to be to with someone. No cell phones, no social media, fully give them gift of your presence. And with a snow day today, we have no excuse not to be together!
Here’s a quote from Advent Conspiracy: Making Christmas Meaningful Again by Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder
When we make time to be with someone, it’s a gift–a relational gift. The conscious giving of our time and presence to another is not a new concept, but it is a neglected one. Consider how you can creatively express to that friend or family member how much you want to be with them. For example, a young man buys his father a pound of coffee beans with one stipulation: ‘Dad can only enjoy this gift with his grown son.’ And in the hours and days it will take to drink those cups of coffee, as that son listens to his dad tell stories and the two of them get reacquainted, what does that say to this father? He hears from his son: I just want to be reminded of you and how you became the man that you are. This is what it means to give your presence in simple but meaningful ways.
Today’s Scripture Passage
Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.