Advent Devotions

 Almost 30 years ago, St. Mark Presbyterian Church put together devotion books largely written by members of the church.  Although those books are hard to find today, we will be re-writing many of them in a series of Advent devotions, here.  But, if you want something more tangible, the Children's Ministry has put together a small booklet which can be found at the Welcome Center in the Narthex.

 The introduction by Diane Brown: "Advent is a time of joyful anticipation of the birth of Christ.  It is also a time of reflection about what His birth means to each of us as Christians and how he fits into our lives. . .We hope that spending some time with their [the selections] thoughts and with the suggested scripture selections will help you put Advent into perspective and increase your enjoyment of this special season and your excitement about the miracle that came to pass in a lowly stable long ago. . ."



Before we begin with one of the selections from 1984, we want to invite members of our congregation to also reflect on what Advent and Christmas means to them and to consider writing a piece for this blog or a future devotion book.

December 4, 1984  "Love, Joy Goodwill, and Peace"
Scripture:  Luke 2:8-14

Our Christmas cards, stories, and songs constantly remind us that this is a time of love, joy, goodwill, and peace.  When I think of Christmas, I think of "hustle and bustle", a flurry of wrapping paper, shorter and shorter notes on Christmas cards as I progress down the alphabet.  I think of Dad grumbling because the lights are tangled, fussing at the kids to keep the ornaments off the tree until the lights are on.

I am so exhausted from shopping, running to the post office, hassling with the kids, visiting relatives, and going to parties that by New Year's Eve I collapse and say, "I don't want to go anywhere or do anything. Let the New Year come----I just want to sleep through it."  Somehow none of this sounds like love, joy, goodwill, and peace.

Maybe this year I'll give magazine subscriptions, leave the decorations in the basement, and stay home to watch the Christmas specials on TV with my kids snuggled beside me.  No doubt, people will call me "Scrooge" and say "What happened to her, she's lost the Christmas spirit!"  I'll just smile and say, "I'm trying to find the love, joy, goodwill and peace in Christmas."
J.M.