Part 2: “RECEIVING GOD’S GIFT WITH AN OPEN HEART”

There is no doubt that it will be a challenge for us to change the way we previously prepared to receive God’s gift of the coming of His only son by focusing on preparing for an earthly celebration. However, Jesus’ birth is a new opportunity for us in faith, to renew our commitment to being ambassadors for Christ in the world & that reality calls for us to prepare our hearts to receive Him. Therefore, we can no longer hide the clutter in our lives. We have to really clean our house & our hearts because when Jesus comes into our lives, He will fill every room, He will transform us, feed us & fill us. When Jesus comes among us, He will fill every valley, every mountain & hill shall be made low & the crooked shall be make straight & the rough way made smooth & all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Isn’t that such a wonderful Holy proclamation, most especially in this world we live in this day? Those are words of the coming peace of the Holy child of God offered to us, a peace that passes all understanding.

With the birth of Jesus, there is no reason to live amidst our clutter of fear & negativity or hopelessness anymore. With Jesus’ coming, we are all offered a new beginning, a new way of living in faith & hope, focused only on God & the gifts of His healing grace & salvation, ridding ourselves of the clutter in our life to make room for the coming of our Lord is a great challenge. It takes time & intentionality. In many ways it requires us to shift our focus so that we are able to stay the course God sets before us as we prepare ourselves for the new life given with the coming birth of our Lord.

As believers preparing to celebrate God’s Holy gift of Jesus among us, we are called in faith to open our hearts to let Jesus come into our being through prayer, the Holy Word, & worship. As we walk to the manger this year to receive God’s gracious gift of the birth of Jesus, in our hearts we are called to proclaim a vision of a society, a nation, that will be redeemed & renewed. It is message of hope in a world that looks relatively hopeless at this time.

The birthday of Jesus certainly calls for a big joyous celebration. There is a place for lights, gifts, candles, cards, etc. but, the heart of the celebration is in the preparation of our souls. The day will come & go but it is the work we do as we prepare our hearts, souls & minds to receive & live for Christ that will make a straight pathway for the work of God.

As we journey through these next few weeks, as we hear the music & see the lights, crowds & commercials, let us each pause & remember who we are & what we are about. We may live in a secular society; we may be in this world but we are not of this world. We are the called people of God preparing ourselves as we wait & get centered so that we can receive God’s gift to us as it was intended. This is not a gift that we want to set on a shelf & put away the day or two after Christmas. This gift will transform the world.

The world needs Jesus’ love & forgiveness, healing grace & peace right now. It would be my sincere hope for all of us that this Christmas, the words & the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus, would wash over us in a new way, as if for the first time, enlivening us & fortifying us to make a straight path for our Lord’s coming. AMEN

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy