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A Note from Pastor Tim
I read once that for many businesses 50% or more of their sales occur in the Christmas season. This could explain the desire to start ‘celebrating Christmas’ gift buying frenzy as soon as possible. For many years, the day after Thanksgiving was the start of the Christmas frenzy - Black Friday sales that would start at 5:00 AM. Now Black Friday is a week-long concept that starts before Thanksgiving. Christmas is the season of concerts, parties of all kinds and special events. And there are lots of them. It’s easy to feel pressured into these events and the sheer number of them can be overwhelming.
So with Christmas only 56 days away, one way we can deal with what’s coming is to have some ways to center ourselves. So today I’m going to offer some short prayers and a couple of quotes that we can pray and think about as we focus ourselves on God.
The first item is a daily prayer used by Mother Thersa.
Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. Amen.
The second prayer comes from the Eastern Orthodox Church. They have a prayer called the Jesus Prayer. It’s short and when we pray it, we repeat it over and over and over and over (Like for minutes at a time.) Here is the text: “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” That’s all. But when we engage and pray it, it surprises us as it centers our hearts and minds in Christ.
The final two prayers come from ‘The Book of Common Prayer’. While written for Christmas Day, we can pray them at any time. The first reminds us that in Jesus we are given life free from sin. The second recalls that we are to walk in the light as Jesus is light in anticipation of the day when we will live completely in the light of God.
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
or this
O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Finally, I would close with two quotes from two Christian writers.
“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child... The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets.” — J.I. Packer.
“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” — C.S. Lewis.
May these prayers and quotes help keep us focused on the truths of Christmas as we seek to enjoy not just the lights of Christmas but the Light of the world, coming into the world to bring full life, peace and joy. And in doing so, may we be conduits of that Light in the lives of all we meet, especially during the stresses of the holiday season.
Peace,
Tim
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