Advent 2016 Day 6

When I think of Christmas’ past, I often think back to a period of time in my family when we went “high tech.” The American era was a period described as a celebration of accomplishments. We had put a man on the moon. The MOON! Technology was just finding its footing in America and we lived between the eras of transistors and circuit boards.

In the midst of this celebration in the days before anyone knew what a computer was came… tada… the ALUMINUM Christmas tree! What an amazing, modern thing. Complete with branches that were stored inside paper tubes, the “realistic,” shiny, aluminum branches shimmered like a new box of Reynolds wrap!

And we’re not done! At the foot of this modern, metallic, glimmering tree was a rotating color wheel that… get this… changed the COLOR of the tree to four different hues. Yes, friends, it was a technological marvel and WE had one in our home… for a few years if I remember. At least until the Christmas when the color wheel got stuck on green and melted down onto the white, hot, flood light underneath.

I remember, though, laying quietly on the floor looking up into the shiny, aluminum, silver branches as this tree became part of my memories of Christmas.

Tradition is a part of this celebration called Christmas. We like things done the way they’ve always been done… even if we’re not sure why we do them this way. If you’re a parent with small children, take care with your activities at Christmas. Your kids will remember them… no matter how odd they may be!

These traditions hook us to a larger story across the timelines of history. Which is exactly what the Christmas story does. In the earliest days as the Gospel began to spread across the known world, it was a tradition told from person to person. It connected them to the greater story of redemption that we celebrate at Christmas.

And it is a story we must keep telling! Tell it. Read it. Sing it. Remember it. It’s a story that must continue to be passed down… and lived out.


FOR MEDITATION: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.     John 3:16

FOR REFLECTION: One evening talk to your spouse, your children, your parents or your friends about the Christmas memory that means the most to you. It is a part of your story now and needs to be shared.

 

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