The Magi are great Advent figures because they spend their time surveying the night sky. We don't know exactly who they were, but we know there was a tradition of stargazing in certain lands east of the Holy Land.
The Magi were what we would call both astrologers and astronomers. They were looking patiently for signs of God's purpose. We might think the way they're looking is funny, by searching for signs in the sky, but, nevertheless, they were looking, in a very patient and intentional way. That makes them Advent figures.
How many of us have become indifferent to the signs of God? How many of us stop wondering what God is up to? How much time do we spend searching out those questions? Prayer is the response to such questions, for that's what prayer involves: seeking the purpose and intentions of God.
By searching for signs of God, the Magi are captivating Advent figures.
Christmas Is A Time For Love And Fun
Christmas is a time for love and fun,
A time to reshape souls and roots and skies.
A time to give your heart to everyone
Freely, like a rich and lavish sun,
Like a burning star to those whose lonely sighs.
For those who show the need of such a time for love and fun.
For children first, whose pain is never done,
whose bright white fire of anguish never dies.
It's time to give your heart to every one,
That not one angel fall, to hatred won
For lack of ears to listen to her cries,
Or arms to carry him towards love and fun,
Or friends to care what happens on the run
To adult life, where joy or sadness lies.
It's time to give your heart to everyone,
For God loves all, and turns His back on none,
good or twisted, ignorant or wise.
Christmas is a time for love and fun,
A time to give your heart to everyone.
"Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" There are two days in every week we should never worry about, two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed, nor erase a single word we've said. Yesterday is gone. The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries, its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance. Tomorrow is beyond our control Tomorrow's sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds - but it will rise. And until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn. This leaves only one day - today! Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday andtomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people mad. It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. The Christmas Envelope
It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas.
Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it. Overspending -- the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an intercut church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.
Well, we ended up walloping them, taking every weight class. As each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, I wish just one of them could have won; he said. They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them. Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.
That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit.
- Author Unknown
Advent Prayer Lord, fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the glory of his resurrection, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. December 19 Do not be weighed down by the clutter in your life: lots of little chores to do sometime, in no particular order. If you focus too much on these petty tasks, trying to get them all out of the way, you will discover that they are endless. They can eat up as much time as you devote to them. Instead of trying to do all your chores at once, choose the ones that need to be done today. Let the rest slip into the background of your mind, so I can be in the forefront of your awareness. Remember that your ultimate goal is living close to Me, being responsive to My initiatives. I can communicate with you most readily when your mind is uncluttered and turned toward Me. Seek My Face continually throughout this day. Let My Presence bring order to your thoughts, infusing Peace into your entire being. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
—Proverbs 16:3 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” —Matthew 6:33 |
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