Joy to the World!

Christmas is not the Distractions

In Dr. Seuss' beloved Christmas Tale - The Grinch exclaims, "Oh the Noise, Noise, Noise...the one thing I simply can't stand is all the noise"!  Sometimes the Holidays can feel just like that.  It's easy to be overwhelmed by all the "noise" surrounding the Christmas season and the sensory overload that goes with it - Pictures with Santa, decorations, presents to buy, meals to plan, gatherings to attend.  For some this can be overwhelming to say the least.

As we see throughout the Bible God is not in the noise.  When God comes to the prophet Elijah he comes as a whisper in the silence.  Although Elijah first looks for him in the earthquake and fire - God is not there!  It's easy to look for God in these places because the loudest noises grab our immediate attention...it's human nature (survival mechanism) to tend to the fires first...and when there are many fires  to put out there is certainly no time to see or hear God in our busy lives.  This is life as we know it - the commercial version of Christmas just seems to magnify this fact.

I attended a talk given by Rob Bell where he mentioned that to truly see God one must slow way down.  There are burning bushes all around us but most of us are moving way too fast to see them.  God is in our lives and God is speaking to us.  So what are we to do about this dilemma?  God knows we live in the "real" world and for many of us we are firefighting day-to-day.  Our lives are filled with noise!  Even during the creation of the world God stops and rests... a way to gain perspective, a chance to step back from it all and see that it is indeed all good! 

That's why one of the greatest gifts God has bestowed to us is the gift of Sabbath...a day of rest.  A day to stop the routines; and for some of us a day to stop the madness so we can see and hear God all around us.  Sabbath is not designed for God - it's for us.  A chance to reboot and become grounded once again in what's most important in our lives: our relationships (with God and those closest to us).

There's a song "I Need A Silent Night" by Amy Grant that goes like this

I've made the same mistake before
Too many malls, too many stores
December traffic, Christmas rush
It breaks me till I push and shove

Children are crying while mothers are trying
To photograph Santa and sleigh
The shopping and buying and standing forever in line
What can I say?

I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night

December comes then disappears
Faster and faster every year
Did my own mother keep this pace
Or was the world a different place?

Where people stayed home wishing for snow
Watching three channels on their TV
Look at us now rushing around
Trying to buy Christmas peace

I need a silent night...

              May you come to find God in the silence and see God in all the burning bushes that are right there besides you.  This Advent season challenge yourself to slow down and prepare to receive the gift of Christ in your life.  Open the gift of Sabbath for you and your family this Christmas Season - for it brings true peace in you and true peace on earth as we prepare to receive God’s greatest gift to us – God’s love coming into the world in the form of Jesus.

Merry Christmas & Shalom!

your faithful servant,

carmen