Day 2 - Sounds like Christmas

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"14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

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If you are anything like me, then Christmas songs and carols will have been entering your thoughts, hums, and whistles since about September and the tree will already be well and truly up. Everything will be coming together and it will start to feel very much like Christmas.

As I was putting my tree up last week, it got me thinking about why. For those of you who don't know me that well - it led me to a great afternoon of thought which some might consider procrastination - however, it wasn't just pointless thought. I wondered why is it that just by putting the tree up did it mean that it was immediately Christmas?

Having been a media student, I began to deconstruct what it could possibly mean, denote, connote, and signify. After a very long winded trail of thought about the history, the usage, the number of trees used year-on-year, and many more interesting yet not needed side-notes, I came to the conclusion it was the latter - it was the symbol I most related to Christmas.

This shook me.

Why wasn't Jesus in the manger, or the manger scene this symbol?

How did I get to the place that a Christmas tree was the most related symbol of Christmas? My immediate perspective seemed to be about the commercial aspects of Christmas, the human-part we've added in. I am only a student, however, I think that this could be the case for many of us. Sometimes it is all too easy to fall into the trap of just going through the motions. But this is not what God intends for us. He doesn't want robots to worship Him and do things because 'that's what we've always done'. That's why we have freewill. He wants willing people to worship Him, to celebrate the birth of His Son.

So this challenged me, that just because it sounds like Christmas doesn't always mean it is. I am not saying we should not take part in the festivities, all I am suggesting is that much like in photography, you use different lenses, maybe this advent season we should be more mindful of the lens we use.

Reflect today: What lens are you using in your approach to the advent season?

What can you do to change it, if necessary, and how can you do something for someone today that you wouldn't usually do?

Dear Lord,

All around Christmas seems to be in full swing. Lights switched on, Christmas shopping, preparations for the big day. Please help me to use the right lens this Christmas time and help me to be more like you and how you would want me to be this season. Thank you for blessing us with your Son. I look forward with anticipation to celebrating this with my family and all who share in the joy of Christmas.

Amen.