Advent Thoughts-2010
Whose Birthday is It, Anyway?
While they were
there, the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son. ~Luke 2:6-7
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On
the First Sunday of Advent, the celebrant at our mass talked about our
Advent preparation. He ended with a reading that was written as if Mary
were speaking to Joseph about a dream she had. Mary says, “Joseph, I had
this wonderful dream about people getting ready for a great celebration. I
think it was because of our Son’s birthday, but it was difficult to tell.
It was beautiful, with much celebrating, but no one mentioned Him. Even the
gifts seemed to be for everyone but Him.”
It got me to thinking about ways in which we might focus on the “reason
for the season.” In our family, we have a four-year-old whose parents pray
with him at mealtime and every evening at bedtime. He knows the Christmas
story, but he is also just now realizing that Christmas is a time when he
gets presents. Like it often does, it’s possible that even in this family
that prays together, Jesus’ birthday will be overlooked and the stack of
Christmas presents under the tree will be the only focus.
I wondered, "What could I do to help us all remember that Christmas is
the birthday of Jesus?" Everyone in our family has a stocking with his/her
name on it. Throughout Advent we put little gifts inside each other’s
stockings. These stockings, with their little gifts, are opened on
Christmas morning. This year there will be one more stocking hung by the
chimney with care. The name on that stocking will read "Jesus". Throughout
the Advent season we can each write on a slip of paper some gifts we are
giving to the Christ Child this year, i.e., helping another family member,
giving food or clothing to the poor, contributing to Catholic Charities or
the Salvation Army kettle, or saying special prayers for someone. On
Christmas, the slips of paper in Jesus’ stocking can be removed and read
before any other gifts are opened.
If your family has a special way to remember Jesus on Christmas,
please tell us about it. |