Uplook - December 14, 2024
Good Saturday evening dear Ones,
Most of you know that I love to preach at Christmas time and love to celebrate the miraculous wonder of God incarnate in the person of Baby Jesus. It is probably not too surprising to you that with our travels to Asia over the years we also learned to appreciate some of the traditions there which might be a bit different from those we are familiar with here. People often smile when I tell them that in Japan, while they are not a particularly Christian culture (less than 2% of the population claiming any form of Christianity), it has become quite a tradition to have Kentucky Fried Chicken (you heard me correctly) for a Christmas meal.
Have you ever noticed how there always seems to be someone in the neighborhood who leaves their Christmas lights on all year or at least puts them up seemingly months early? We often chide retailers for pushing the Christmas message early just for additional profits. Yet in the Philippines we were surprised to see that many families were decorating and stores playing Christmas music in September and continuing it on through Christmas. While it seemed a bit excessive to me, there are some church traditions which are quite inspiring and recenter the focus on Christ. Many homes and public buildings are adorned with star shaped lanterns representing the Star of Bethlehem which guided the Magi. The Spanish introduced a festive meal on Christmas Eve which has been adapted and has come to be known as “Noche Buena”. Another is a series of pre-Christmas church services held early in the morning from December 16 through December 24. It is called “Simbang Gabi” And I do mean early…like 4-5 AM. Although the timing is shifted in some congregations to evenings, our Filipino churches hold these services in an attempt to help the saints prepare spiritually for Christmas.
Of course there are many different Christmas traditions from around the world, but my point in sharing is that we should never tire of the message that God sent Jesus and it should inspire and encourage us even in the darkest of times. May we not let demanding schedules and expectations rob us of the wonder of God’s love which has been extended to each of us in Christ. In the next 10 days, may we all trek toward the manger just as the shepherds would do on that day and may we bring our “gifts” as the Magi later did to the place where the young child was when they arrived. You can rest assured Jesus is still very present in our world today and still worthy of our worship this Christmas time.
Housekeeping Notes
Choir – There is choir practice tomorrow at 3:15 in preparation for next weeks Christmas musical in the morning.
Next Sunday – Not only is our Choir and young people presenting a Christmas musical in the morning service but the evening service will be Carols and Candles, a simple time of song and reflection. Plan to be there if you can.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
Most of you know that I love to preach at Christmas time and love to celebrate the miraculous wonder of God incarnate in the person of Baby Jesus. It is probably not too surprising to you that with our travels to Asia over the years we also learned to appreciate some of the traditions there which might be a bit different from those we are familiar with here. People often smile when I tell them that in Japan, while they are not a particularly Christian culture (less than 2% of the population claiming any form of Christianity), it has become quite a tradition to have Kentucky Fried Chicken (you heard me correctly) for a Christmas meal.
Have you ever noticed how there always seems to be someone in the neighborhood who leaves their Christmas lights on all year or at least puts them up seemingly months early? We often chide retailers for pushing the Christmas message early just for additional profits. Yet in the Philippines we were surprised to see that many families were decorating and stores playing Christmas music in September and continuing it on through Christmas. While it seemed a bit excessive to me, there are some church traditions which are quite inspiring and recenter the focus on Christ. Many homes and public buildings are adorned with star shaped lanterns representing the Star of Bethlehem which guided the Magi. The Spanish introduced a festive meal on Christmas Eve which has been adapted and has come to be known as “Noche Buena”. Another is a series of pre-Christmas church services held early in the morning from December 16 through December 24. It is called “Simbang Gabi” And I do mean early…like 4-5 AM. Although the timing is shifted in some congregations to evenings, our Filipino churches hold these services in an attempt to help the saints prepare spiritually for Christmas.
Of course there are many different Christmas traditions from around the world, but my point in sharing is that we should never tire of the message that God sent Jesus and it should inspire and encourage us even in the darkest of times. May we not let demanding schedules and expectations rob us of the wonder of God’s love which has been extended to each of us in Christ. In the next 10 days, may we all trek toward the manger just as the shepherds would do on that day and may we bring our “gifts” as the Magi later did to the place where the young child was when they arrived. You can rest assured Jesus is still very present in our world today and still worthy of our worship this Christmas time.
Housekeeping Notes
Choir – There is choir practice tomorrow at 3:15 in preparation for next weeks Christmas musical in the morning.
Next Sunday – Not only is our Choir and young people presenting a Christmas musical in the morning service but the evening service will be Carols and Candles, a simple time of song and reflection. Plan to be there if you can.
God bless you all.
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
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