From Pastor Biar’s Pen 

Veni Redemptor Gentium

            I was listening to a podcast the other day, and the interviewee made the point that – as our society becomes increasingly post-Christian – the Christian life is going to start to look increasingly weird. No longer is it a given that people will just understand what it means to have your child baptized and why, or why you would go to church in the morning rather than sleeping in on the weekend, or even keep your kids from playing in the Sunday morning game their little league now has because you’re saying church is a higher priority. That’s weird. He then goes on to say that we should lean into the weirdness not only because Scripture says we are going to look different than the rest of the world, but also because of the ways it can open the doors to give explanations for why we do the things we do and thus become an avenue to proclaim the Gospel.

            Advent gives us a chance to be weird. Let’s face it, Walmart had their Christmas decorations up Nov. 1; most online chatter says they’re being more conservative when they wait until the day after Thanksgiving to declare the Christmas season has begun and start blasting Christmas music.* For as much attention as gets paid to “war on Christmas” every year, wouldn’t it be weird if we Christians – the ones supposedly jumping down everyone’s throats demanding they say the word “Christmas” – weren’t celebrating it when the rest of the world does? What if we let Advent be Advent and started celebrating Christmas during the actual Christmas season of Dec. 24-Jan. 6? ** What if we were going to the midweek services when everyone else was throwing holiday parties? What if we were starting our parties when everyone else was putting their decorations away? And then, when people ask “I thought you were a Christian, aren’t you supposed to be all about Christmas?” you can talk about the season of preparation, the anticipation, the eschewing of the overly commercialized Hallmark aspects of December in lieu of remembering what it really is all about.

            Just a thought.

God’s Blessings,  Pastor Biar

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