By Pastor Don Schatz

Party On!

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud Link

“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest.”
Exodus 34:22.  New International Version

I was nearing the end of my morning walk 6 days ago when I glanced to my left to make sure no cars were coming.  None were.  But something else caught my eye.  City employees were decorating the tree near City Hall.  They were decorating it for the Christmas season.  If you saw that, what would you think?

Oh yeah!?

Too soon!?

What in the world?

Enter your own thoughts here………

To be sure, Exodus 34:22 is a pre-text for this reflection today.  I guess my little suburb is envisioning a Feast of Weeks–it was 7 weeks until Christmas.  Now, stores in my area of the country began to decorate for Christmas before Halloween.  Frankly, none of it bothers me much.  After all, I started playing Christmas music the second half of October.  Perhaps stores are capitalizing on Christmas to make as much money as possible.  I don’t have to spend my money yet.  I don’t feel any pressure to do so.  In fact, I haven’t even had a seasonal peppermint mocha at Starbucks!  Will power.  Although, I have no doubt I will soon give in to the temptation of Starbucks’ cranberry bliss bar.  In the service of full disclosure.

I guess my thought is, the “secular” world putting up Christmas decorations and to make an extra buck or two can remind me that every day of the year is Christmas.   It is not just during Advent and Christmas that Christ comes in Word and Sacrament, but in the blessing of the Christian community, and in the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit.  

It used to be common that some weeks after Christmas, we would discover a decoration somewhere in the house.  We missed it.  So we left it up.  After a few years of this, we did it on purpose.  To remind us that the Coming Christ comes today.  Every day.  He comes to us.  So maybe our motto could be, “If Christmas comes daily, let’s throw a party.”  Cranberry bliss bar, anyone?

Copyright, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado