The Christmas season is upon us (some might say, “running over us”) and, if we are not careful, it will pass us by.  Christmas really is my favorite time of the year and I’m personally in favor of extending the season–more Christmas, I say!  Or we could just start early.  I might be the only one, but it warms my heart when the retail stores start putting out the Christmas stuff in September or late August.  Okay, maybe that’s going a bit too far, but I just want to have time to enjoy the Christmas season. Don’t you?

It’s the beginning of December, and dare I say, the rush to Christmas is on!  The Christmas holiday will come and go this year (like every year), but we have a chance to respond to Christmas in a way that will last–forever.  We are coming up on the second week of our Christmas series entitled Guess Who’s Coming for Christmas?  We could just as easily have called these messages R.S.V.P., because the focus and the real question is how we respond to Christmas–the real Christmas, the birth of the Savior who loves us and died for us. 

Last week we talked about “The Crowd,” and I believe a crowd has come to characterize Christmas as much as anything.   At Christmas, there are always crowds–everywhere you go!  And in a way I like the crowds at Christmas (unless I’m at the end of a long line at the mall), because they do seem a little nicer, a little more compassionate than crowds the rest of the year.  It’s as if people can feel that there’s something special in the celebration of this holdiay.  Maybe they don’t realize exactly what it is; and maybe they misplace the sentiment of peace on earth, good will toward men because they don’t recall Who would be bringing that peace and good will.  Hey, maybe we should tell them!

We have a responsibility to the crowd (beyond fighting them), and Christmas might be one of our best opportunities (remember, the crowds are nicer!).  Like some shepherds and wise guys (men, actually) that we’ll talk about in a couple of weeks, we’ve stepped out of the crowd and gotten to the Christ of Christmas.  This year, why don’t we step back in the crowd and bring someone else out–and not just out of the crowd, but out of the darkness and into the light of Jesus. 

Christmas is upon us, but it’s not over. Help someone get out of the crowd and to the Savior.  Don’t let it pass them (or you) by.  See you Sunday.

 blessings,

pastor greg