Magyar Egyház, 1999 (78. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1999 / 4. szám
6. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ KEEPING CHRISTMAS IN THIS CHRISTMAS As we consider this millennium drawing to a close, I am sure our minds will be full of information and predictions, we have heard concerning the beginning of the next millennium. Some say that computers will not function and that many of the services we have grown to depend upon will not be functioning or will be severely disrupted that week after Christmas. It is also possible that those who have put off filling their pantries and shelves with food and water for the upcoming events of early January will do that during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Is it possible that we will spend more time preparing for the possible problems of Y2K than we will spend preparing to celebrate the coming of our Lord to earth. Let me suggest the following: The first Sunday of Advent this year, let us look at the book of Isaiah and consider all of the titles and names given to Christ in the seventh and ninth chapters. This is a rich portion of God’s inspired word; the fact that Isaiah talked about the coming of our Lord hundreds of years before his birth should bring excitement to our lives. We might also want to ponder the thoughts of what Christmas has meant to us throughout our lives and what it means to us now. Have we become so familiar with packages, ribbons, paper, and decorations that we forgotten the greatness of the prophesy that Isaiah predicted and was fulfilled that cold night in Bethlehem’s manger? On the second Sunday of Advent, we might want to consider the passages in Matthew and Luke that talk about Mary’s response to her high calling and privilege. Protestants may have a tendency to allow the beauty and honor of Mary’s position and function to be downgraded to a mere “carrier” of the baby Jesus. It is possible that we neglect to focus on her function during that period of history when we could discover the richness of the emotion and dedication of the teenage mother of our Lord. On the third Sunday of Advent, we could turn our attention to the angels and shepherds that played such a small part in the choir that surrounded the birth of our Lord. Luke gives us a rich portrait of the conditions that were prevalent that night; the guardians of the heavens and the earth were the angels and shepherds who received our Lord into our world. Shepherds who enjoyed very little status in the economy of the Middle East during that period were willing recipients of the message of the angels that night. Surely, in the midst of the cold they would have loved to have warmed themselves by the fire and crawled into some heavy blankets to protect themselves in their evening rest. Instead, they went to worship this new arrival. The fourth Sunday we can remember the Magi who brought richness and flare to the country when they arrived to greet the King of the universe. These gifts were worthy of a King and presented by these wise and wealthy men who traveled for years to greet and crown the King of the earth. Christmas Eve can be spent remembering the birth of our Lord and considering Simeon and Anna and their example to all of us to wait upon the Lord and his timing. Also, that night we can attend a worship service and again bow our knees to the Lord of the universe and partake of the Bread and the Wine that causes us to begin to cast our gaze toward Calvary’s mountain. Why would we, as God’s children, allow the preoccupation of computers and the comforts of this life rob us of an opportunity to celebrate this Christmas any differently than our celebrations of the past. As the children of Israel stood before the blazing furnaces in Daniel’s day, may we also conclude that regardless of what happens to us in the moments and days ahead, we will serve the Lord. Merry Christmas, Happy New Millennium, Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Burbridge Senior Pastor American Hungarian Reformed Church Allen Park, Michigan Ageless star. Did you think the star was meant just for the magi and the shepherds - just for that one night alone? Oh, no! God hung it there against the ages; it is for all of us. Its radiance enfolds us all; knowing no bound of creed, color, or servitude. It guides the aged home, it is reflected in the eyes of babies, generation after generation, and in the eyes of mothers, seeking in their babies the countenance of Christ. All of us are coming once more under the spell of the star, come to take new hope in peace and the prince of peace.
