If we had been gathering for our Christmas Eve Service this year, we would have been lighting the center candle in the Advent wreath. This is the Christ Candle. For me, the Advent Wreath creates a beautiful picture of that central place that Jesus, God’s Son is meant to have in our lives. Scripture expresses Jesus’ central place this way, “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.”(Colossians 1:17) Wouldn’t you agree that we so need Jesus to have central place and to hold all things together? Many traditions and special activities are part of our celebrations of Christmas. At the center of it all is Jesus. I am inviting each of us to take time in these next few days leading up to Christmas to ask, “Does Jesus have central place”? We will have various plans during this season and some of our plans have had to be adjusted. Is Jesus at the center of our attitudes when we need to make changes? We look forward to times that we will spend with family and friends. We anticipate those times and we reminisce about them afterwards. Is Jesus at the center of our conversations in all of our gatherings? In the extensive effort we put into our gatherings and gift giving, do we remember and find ways to extend care for those who are lonely, sad, and in need of our love? That too is an indication that Jesus is at the center of our lives. When we listen to the news and become increasingly concerned about what the future holds, is Jesus at the center? Are we really expecting Jesus to hold all things together? Do we trust Him and release our anxious thoughts to Him in prayer. Actually, prayer is a wonderfully effective way of maintaining Jesus’ central place in every aspect of our lives at Christmas and in our every day living. Our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow December 22nd at 1 pm can be our opportunity for careful self examination. It can be a time to ask sincerely, “Does Jesus have central place”?
Trusting that we will take time for quiet reflection and prayer as we approach Christmas 2021, Pastor Lola
Lord Jesus, our desire is for You to be at the center and for us to keep our gaze fixed on You. Thank You that Christmas is a time filled with reminders of Who You are and why You came into our world. We are praying right now that You will be close with us in our times of self examination. Keeping You at the center of our lives requires consistent effort on our part. It also requires Your grace. On our own, we get distracted or we find ourselves filling our lives with things that squeeze You out of the central place where you belong. We are grateful that this time of prayer can provide moments of grace to draw our commitment back to You. Please show us what needs to be rearranged in our lives for You to have central place. Guide us in moving things that have become more important to us than You. We want to restore You to Your place of honour and devotion in the living of our lives. God we need You to reveal the way things really are for us. Sometimes we try to convince ourselves that our motives and actions are centered in You when in reality they are not. Please deal with any reluctance in us to be completely honest with You and with ourselves. We thank You that You keep welcoming us back to the nearness of relationship with You that You have made possible. When we are lingering near to You, we want to be listening for what You want to say to us. Our Lord it is apparent to us that the world around us has not chosen to keep You at the center. This means that we are living with different values and priorities when our desire is for You to be at the center. Rather than be filled with resentment toward those who see things differently, please fill us with empathy and compassion. Help us to understand why for some they do not even consider or recognize You wanting and deserving central place. In our world that shows evidence of moving further and further away from You Jesus, we commit ourselves to keep listening for You and being available to live our lives in ways that demonstrate that You are Lord and Saviour. In the words of the Christmas carol we pray, “Oh Holy Child of Bethlehem. Descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell. Oh come to us. Abide with us. Our Lord Immanuel.” Yes Lord, we trust You to abide with us and to be at the center of our lives over this Christmas time and with each new day of the year ahead. In Jesus’ name. AMEN