Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Dec/96

Contributor - Sharen de Waard

Title - Pondering the Mystery of Christmas

Topic - Christmas

The other day my daughter asked me, 'What is your favorite holiday?' I promptly answered, 'Oh, Christmas." Her face lit up as she thought about Christmas and said, 'Me too." Then she asked, 'What is it about Christmas that makes it your favorite holiday?' I answered, 'The mystery of God becoming man." As we both thought about my answer, I became reminiscent of the feeling I get each year as advent comes and I get out the candles and the decorations and prepare the baking. A feeling of awe and wonder fills my being. It is as if some of the feelings and the atmosphere of that first Christmas come sweeping into today. What did Mary think when the angel told her that she had found favour with God and she would conceive a child and He would be called the Son of the Most High? What did she feel like when the angel announced that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her? I think of my own life and the times I encounter Christ Jesus and the way my life changes and I am never the same. Could Mary have ever known the magnitude of the impact this child would bring, to her and to the world?

My thoughts were interrupted as my daughter spoke blithely, 'Yes, Mama, I love Christmas too, the lights and the good smells, the presents and the mystery of God becoming a man." She looked pensive and then asked, "How did God stay God in heaven and also become a baby Jesus in the manger?" I smiled and told her that she had asked a very good question, and the answer to it is part of the mystery of God becoming man. I was delighted to see my daughter pondering the mysteries Of Christmas, the things that we can't quite grasp, the things that have been concealed. She has the same reflective attitude as Mary when she pondered the salutation of the angel (Lk. 1:29) and the message of the shepherds (Lk. 2:19). She has shared in the amazement of Joseph and Mary at the things said about Jesus (Lk. 2:33). The events surrounding the birth of Jesus were so ordinary and at the same time so extraordinary that everyone who heard about them wondered at these things (Lk. 1:66; 2:18). So they should, and so should we. It is an incredible, marvelous, miraculous thing. God, through Jesus Christ, personally entering human history. God's wondrous plan of salvation, shaped in the form of Jesus, is beyond human calculation.

As we enter again into the Christmas season, let us quietly and meditatively brood over the awesome events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Let's let the significance of these events sink deep into our spirits.

One way to do this is to follow an advent devotional. On the fourth Sunday of November, following the evening meal, our family sits around the advent wreath and takes time to ponder the events of Christmas. We borrow some of the liturgy used in the Children and Worship program. My husband will say, 'This is the season of Advent, the time we get ready to celebrate the mystery of Christmas, the time when we are all on the way to Bethlehem. But who will show us the way? The children reply, 'The Prophets!" We light the first advent candle and our son reads from Isaiah, and a few meditation questions 'follow. The candle stays lit until bedtime; we will light it again on the next Sunday when we discover who else will help 'show the way.' We find that this is one way to invite each member of our family to step away from the scheduled events of Christmas and contemplate the wonder of Christ's birth. Any format for doing an advent devotional can be used. The following are some suggested readings and questions for the four weeks of advent:

lst Sunday of Advent: The Prophets tell of Christ's coming. Read Isaiah 9:2-6. Meditation questions: 1. How much light does it take to overcome the darkness? 2. How did the prophets listen to God? 3. How do you listen to God?

2nd Sunday of Advent: Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus.

Read Matthew 1:18-25.

Meditation questions: 1. How did the birth of Jesus change the course of History? 2. How did the birth of Jesus change your life?

3rd Sunday of Advent: The Shepherds and the Angels. Read Luke 2:8-20. Meditation questions: 1. What amazes you most about the Christmas story? 2. What did the shepherds do with the message the angels gave them?

4th Sunday of Advent: The Visit of the Magi. Read Matthew 2:112. Meditation questions: 1. What makes this story of how Herod "missed the King' so tragic? 2. How do we try to remove Jesus' authority from our lives today?

Christmas Day. Celebrating the Visit of Christ. Read Luke 1-6869. Meditation questions: 1. How do you feel knowing that Christ is looking intensely at His world, His Church, and His people. 2. What do you think about when you consider the Second Coming of Christ?

In the busyness of the season, I encourage each one of us to carve out time to reflect on the mystery of God becoming man and the marvelous, wonderful implications of it.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.