THE HOLY KISS

Greet one another with a holy kiss. Romans 16:16

O my goodness! it’s almost Christmas. Didn’t we just have Halloween? No, wait a minute, Halloween was almost a month ago; we just had Remembrance Day. And Grey Cup Sunday’s next weekend. Life’s getting way too full. The add key works, but nothing ever gets subtracted. I need a hole is the wall of my life, kinda like a garbage chute, where I can just dispose of all the things that have been added without my permission each year. Ya, that’s the idea; a release valve for all the stupid add-ons. An “ADD VENT”. What a concept!

Please forgive the cheesy pun. I think it might be stress.

SO, WHAT IS ADVENT?

The season of Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day and is a maximum of four weeks long. (This year it's November 29 to December 24) The word "advent" means “coming”, and designates a period of time dedicated to preparation for the celebration of the coming of Christ.

Some suggest that, in the modern world, Advent is old fashioned and impractical. December is too full of celebration to accommodate spiritual reflection. But it has always been the practice of the saints to swim against the stream, especially when contemplation and spiritual growth are at stake. So I persist in encouraging everyone to set aside time to ensure that Christmas is given its proper place.

HOW CAN WE OBSERVE ADVENT?

The first principle of Advent is simplicity. December is a very busy time of year, and it’s certainly foolhardy to ignore that fact. We will accomplish little if we bite off more than we can chew – a common danger of the holiday season – and so I suggest we remember the KISS maxim; Keep It Simply Simple.

Kibosh- Go through your December calendar and ruthlessly eliminate unnecessary commitments. Save as much of your partying as possible for the Christmas/New Year time slot.

Initiate- Do your Christmas shopping, baking, etc. as early as possible.

Share - Sit down with your family and those close to you and plan one evening a week when you can share a Christmas video, decorate the tree, go for a walk in the snow, etc.

Scripture- Set a regular, daily time when you can sit down alone, and quietly read a few verses of the Christmas story. About 7 verses a day would take you through the entire birth story of Jesus. (Matthew 1:1-2:23 and Luke 1:5-2:40)

And follow the blog. I’ll be doing it again this year, though not like last year when I almost killed myself doing a post every day. I’ll try for two or three a week.

And let’s all have a great Christmas.