This week Christmas is getting close enough to feel close. For people who have been preparing, the preparations seem to be done and mostly they are waiting. For others, the urgency of needing to prepare is now high enough to be a source of anxiety – “time to paint or get off the ladder” as they say.
As for the reason for all of this, the story behind it all is still not that well known to many around us. More and more people are becoming adults with minimal Christian background. One young woman I saw last week was curious about the Advent Wreath and wondered why we didn’t light the whole thing. When I explained how Advent and the wreath work she said, “You know, my parents didn’t do me any favors by not teaching me much about religion.”
So this time of year is a wonderful time to consider thinking about how YOU would tell the story of Jesus to a friend and why you think Jesus coming to be among us matters. It is a story worth telling and people like the young woman I quoted in the paragraph above are very open to hearing it – even wondering about it. You may be the one who knows them well enough to be able to share it and be heard in an important way.
So, as we look to the manger and to the birth of Jesus, take a moment to go through the story in your mind. What details are most important to you? Why does Jesus matter to you?
The Christmas story is more than most stories – it is a story that points to God’s commitment to humankind and to life. That makes it a story worth telling!
