Just 24 days till Christmas! How will you celebrate December 25? If you are fortunate enough to have a job, or if you are engaged in educational studies, you might be looking forward to some time off. If you have family/friends nearby you might be planning a festive meal. If you belong to a Christian community you might be hoping that the pandemic will decrease enough to allow for in-person worship services. How ever you plan to celebrate, there are 24 days to get ready.

Getting ready describes the Advent Season. Some of us will use the time to shop in-store and on- line, to decorate the house with sentimental ornaments from previous Christmases, to dig out old favourite recipes, to write emails and mail Christmas cards, and the list goes on. Before we get too engrossed maybe we could pause and ask our self, Why am I doing this? Ah, it’s a time to celebrate you know...Christmas comes but once a year! Oh, really?

I think that Charles Dickens got it right when he had Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” proclaim, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Advent gives us time to focus on doing so.

Bible Reading: Matthew 21:23-32