anticipation

our series for Advent and Christmas is called
The Gift.
What follows are the bulletin inserts called Pete's Page:

"You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town He's making a list, Checking it twice; Gonna find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town"

Advent is a time of anticipation, of having something to look forward to - which at this time is not the same for many of our fellow citizens as it is for us. For many of them it’s about the stress of finding gifts for hard-to-please people, planning to feed a family invasion from all over the country, and just plain coping with all the commercially communicated stress. So they make lists that reveal what they’re anticipating, what they’re hoping for. I know they make lists cos the woman I live with and our mothers did the same.
So what are you hoping for this advent and Christmas season? Is there a gift that you’d been hoping someone who cares for you would buy? Is there some family member you’d not seen for more than a year that you would love to come home this time? Is there some family grief that you’re hoping you’ll be able to handle, perhaps even ignore, as you and the rest of the family try to celebrate the season? Is there a relationship you kind of hope might be rescued in the spirit of a season of good will? What’s on the wish list of your heart?
Can I ask if you’ve asked the true Lord of Christmas for the fulfillment of your heart’s wish-list?
This season is rally about us preparing our hearts for the wonder of a great miracle, whereby the God who dreamt of and fashioned the whole Cosmos became clothed in human skin, complete with nose, eyes, a loudly complaining mouth and an unreliable digestive system. It is also about the belief that because of this God-man there is hope beyond hope that at some point everything that’s wrong with the world will be set right and at peace.
That’s where the hard-to-find peace and hope of the season is.
In His unrelenting grip
Pete