Here they
come all lined up in a row, one after the other. Halloween followed by
Veteran’s Day, and soon our path runs into Thanksgiving. The season of Advent
begins on the last Sunday of November. Then the Christian, Jew, and the secular
world celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, and one way or another we find the
means to celebrate the passing of one year and the beginning of another. All
this occurs in less than ten weeks.
There will
be parties and family gatherings. Travel miles will reach into the millions.
Businesses will make more money in these ten weeks than in any other four to
six month period of the year. On January 2nd we will go back to
work, collapse in exhaustion, or watch another round of college football games.
It is the American way.
Where in all
this chaos do we find time to celebrate the reasons behind each season? There
would be no Halloween (All Hallows Eve) if there were no All Hallows Day or All
Saints Day. There would be no Veteran’s Day if we did not honor those who have
given of time and life to defend the freedoms of our country. There would be no
Thanksgiving if we did not remember the price paid by those who first settled
our country. There would be no Advent and Christmas if followers of Jesus had
not seen his coming as a divine interruption in history along with a promise he
would return some day. And as for New Year’s Eve and Day? We don’t need much of
an excuse to celebrate. If a reason is not handy, we’ll make up one.
In I
Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul said,
1Th
5:18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God
because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do. (Contemporary
English Version)
Holidays can
bring a mess of emotions. Anticipation can fill your thoughts as you prepare
for the seasonal activities. There is the joy of being with friends and family
in an atmosphere of caring and sharing. There can be a sense of longing about
wonderful occasions now relegated to the past. Our hearts can miss the joy of
the season altogether if there is an empty chair where a departed loved one
used to sit.
Paul calls
us to remember regardless of what is happening we have reason to thank God.
Things may look dark. Grief may dominate. Still, Paul says, we can find joy in
what God has given us and will never take away.
Don’t
celebrate the demonic and evil at Halloween. Celebrate the lives of all the
saints who have kept a faithful witness for Christ through the centuries.
Celebrate the Resurrection of Christ when he overcame death, the greatest
weapon of Satan.
Don’t be
conquered by grief at the terrible cost in lives and families by war. Thank God
there were and are men and women who are willing to give “the last, full
measure” for the freedom of their country. Thank God for their memory. Thank
God for their service today. Remember them in your prayers and acts of
kindness.
Don’t let
Thanksgiving get lost between the decorations of Halloween and Christmas. Slow
down long enough to recognize that as James said,
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and
every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of
the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. (Good
News Bible)
Use the time of Advent, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, to
thank God for sending his Son Jesus Christ to die in place of us for the
consequences of our sins. Take time to thank God that this same Jesus is coming
back one day to carry us to our eternal home in the presence of our heavenly
Father.
On New Year’s Eve, thank God you have what you have at the end of this
old year. On New Year’s Day thank God you have to possibilities of a new year
awaiting you.
This will
help you live with a holiday spirit.
