“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you” – Romans 15:7
Dear Saints, Advent is here. It’s a time of anticipation and preparation. Whether you’re the person who has already checked everything off their Christmas list or whether you’ll be wrapping and decorating late on Christmas Eve, it’s evident all around us that the season has begun. The air is beginning to buzz with excitement, the airwaves are beginning to stream holiday favorites and the nights are beginning to light up with twinkling lights.
When it comes to preparing, we all have our own style. Some of us spend the Advent season at home baking, while others are out celebrating. Some of us take to quiet reflection, while others want to take in as much Christmas music as humanly possible. Meanwhile, others of us are unable to partake in beloved holiday traditions due to illness, crisis or personal constraints. However your “outer” preparations may look this season, remember that what truly matters this Advent is our “inner” preparation for the coming of Christ.
This season, what matters above all the holiday hubbub is welcome. As we hold vigil for the coming of Emmanuel, we prepare our hearts to welcome him. The festival of the Incarnation (or “Christmas” as we call it) is a time to clear out all the clutter from our hearts so that the joy, love and peace of the newborn King will have have room to take root and flourish. Like the manger, filled with soft hay and lined with swaddling cloths, all that is needed to cradle the coming Christ is a clean, warm, welcoming place. No frills required. As we journey through this season, you may ask yourself what can be cleared from your life in order to make a welcome place for the Prince of Peace.
However Romans 15 reminds us that in our walk of faith, welcome goes in many directions. St. Paul reminds believers that the first welcome came from Christ, when by Grace he welcomed us into the family of God. And so our welcome of him in return, as well as our welcome of others, are a grateful response to what he has first done for us. If we were the ones first to be received by Christ, then in gratitude we open our hearts to welcome him and to welcome others.
This week, as we consider the call to “prepare,” may we make room in our lives for the giver of Grace, and through him, make room for others who need love and welcome this Christmas.
+ Pastor Ginger +
