Ministers and church musicians do not always get excited about Advent and Christmas. Once in a while even the cheeriest, most optimistic pastors look at the work of this winter holiday and think, “Here we go again.”
This malady may actually begin when women and men are studying for the ministry in seminary. Seminarians and first-year ministers are often surprised by the fact that they are expected to work on Christmas Eve.
I remember meeting a seminary intern in Atlanta who was dismayed about this. He said, “It never even occurred to me that we would lose Christmas to the church.” I don’t think he realized the irony of that statement.
So maybe you’ll understand why every year in August when David Diebold and I sit down to work on the fall preaching and worship schedule we don’t exactly repeat the sounding joy when it comes time to plan for the season of Advent. A running joke between us every summer is this question: Are we having Christmas, AGAIN?
But that is the beauty of the season. Our bah humbug feelings remind us that this is the reason we need to repeat the sounding joy, to sing the carols, to light the candles, to retell the story of Joseph and Mary. By telling the tale again we remind ourselves of the ancient promise sung by the angels, “Peace on Earth, good will to all!”
We revisit Christmas every year in order to remember the things that are most important in this life. We sing “Joy to the World, the Lord HAS come” to remind us that we don’t have to worry about when Jesus is coming back because he has already been here. The little babe in the manger will grow to be a human being fully alive, full of wisdom and divine favor. When he does, he will call upon all of us to give our lives to the work of love.
In a world full of terrible noise and difficult news, let us in the church find the strength to repeat the sounding joy.
Grace and peace to you,
-Glen
