I'm more of an Advent than a Christmas day person but I do admit that I like the Christmas season.
I like the lights and the trees and
the decorations and the music and the food and the presents and the
laughter.
I like it that people get generous at
this time of the year and I like it that for a time, brief though it be, our
culture reaches out and touches others, especially children, and attempts to
bring a season of hope to them.
HOPE---What a great idea. It may just be, in summary form, the purpose
of the existence of the Church.
What the world does once a year ought
to be normal, everyday living in the Church the baby of Bethlehem founded. Givers of hope, that's who we are; Sharers of
hope...Benefactors of hope...Present in the world to bestow to others the one
thing most needed in the human experience...HOPE.
Long after the holidays the Church
will still be open for business, sharing the Good News. And, we'll do it not for any financial gain,
as does a world gone materialistically mad.
We'll just do it for Jesus. Why? Because "we cannot help speaking about
what we've seen and heard" (Acts. 4:20).
