Oh the things that come out of my mouth!  Sometimes I say the most thought-provoking things and other times I say things like, “I’m given to understand that most families open up their pajamas on Christmas morning.”  In case you missed yesterday’s sermon, we all had a good laugh at my expense.  The laughs continued throughout the afternoon at my in-laws as we baked cookies and then again this morning when we got out of bed.  To top it all off, today is pajama day at Allan’s preschool.  Needless to say, I had to have a talk with Allan this morning about how we DO NOT open our pajamas despite what daddy may have said in church!  It’s hard to work a good joke into a sermon.  The ones I think are the funniest are usually the ones no one laughs at.  The best laughs are the unplanned ones!  And I’m still smiling this morning.  I’m glad we can laugh together!

In the midst of all the laughing yesterday, I hope you were also challenged to revisit your Christmas traditions and explore why you celebrate the way you do.  Specifically when it comes to Christmas trees and Santa Claus, we can get a bit muddled up.  But with a proper perspective and a little history, we see that indeed everything at Christmas can point us back to Christ.  I pray we all continue to pause and reflect this week as we quickly approach that silent night on which we meditate on Christ’s Advent.

As I’ve mentioned before, we have quite a busy day on Christmas Eve this year with two different services.  During our regular 10:15 service, we will have our annual “Stories and Carols” worship service.  I’ve been sneaking into the kids’ practices and I’m getting pretty excited for what they will be sharing with us this year.  You definitely don’t want to miss it!  Following our morning service, we will gather for a candlelight Christmas Eve service at 6pm.  This will be a great time to gather with family, friends, and neighbors to pause and reflect on Christ’s coming.  Please plan on joining us!

Christmas is two weeks away!  Are you ready?  Not just have you finished shopping, wrapping, baking, and decorating but is your heart ready?  Are you pausing and reflecting?  Are you re-evaluating how and why you celebrate?  Are you keeping Christ at the center of your Christmas?  Are you ready for Christ’s Mass?

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Jan