An article from the Cathedral Times.
By the time you read this, the excitement of Christmas Eve will be over. Perhaps the energy of December parties will be dissipating, too. Surely, children and friends will have finished unwrapping packages and surprises.
Some of us may be happily enjoying the languid lull of late December. Some of us may be in front of television sets waiting for the college football bowl games. Some of us may be tired.
But others of us are still working feverishly. After all, this is the end of the year, often a time of financial anxiety. Some of us have just made some tough business decisions. Some of us may be ending the year with a job change, or looking for a job. Some of us may have encountered some unpleasant family situations during the holidays.
Well, it’s fun to celebrate Christmas when things are going well. It’s a challenge to celebrate Christmas when things are not going so well.
In these days after Christmas Day—the actual Twelve Days of Christmas in fact!—we need Christmas more than ever. We need Emmanuel, “God-with-us.”
Thank you for all your energy around the Cathedral Parish of St. Philip during December! You participated in prayers and hymns, carols and lessons, giving and celebrating! It was wonderful. I am grateful for all of you who prepared the way for our services. And, I especially thank all of you who gave financial resources and gifts. Some of you have given more than your pledged amount! Thank you!
But we still need the truth of Christmas in our lives—not just for one grand night, or even for twelve peaceful days. Christmas means that God entered our lives for good, forever, not just for a season. Yes, it’s fun to celebrate joy when things are going well. But God loves us so much that he enters our lives when things are not going well, too.
God is with us. Whether we are up or down, joyful or sad, God is with us. We proclaimed that on Christmas Eve and Day, and we continue to proclaim it. Christmas is not over! Stay tuned. The Cathedral Parish of St. Philip continues to celebrate the incarnation of love throughout this new year!
It's still Christmas!
