Transitioning from Advent to Christmas
So often we celebrate Christmas on December 25th, then we pack up and move on, left with a feeling of anticlimax and even emptiness. This may be because we miss the bustle of festivities that Christmas brings. Or it may be because we miss the opportunity to marvel in solitude at the gifts the Messiah has brought us.
One character of the Christmas story we don’t always focus on is Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. For years, she had hoped and prayed, longing to have a child but forced to wait until it seemed like this dream would never come true. Then one day, she and her husband received an amazing promise – in her old age, Elizabeth would bear a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah Himself!
We might expect Elizabeth in this moment to act as many of us would – jumping immediately into a bustle of preparation and spreading the news to neighbors and friends. However, in Luke 1:24, we see Elizabeth do exactly the opposite. Her first response to the news that her dearest wish has come true is to spend five whole months “in seclusion.” As I read this passage, it seems as though she might be taking this time to reflect on the wonder of what she has experienced. In verse 25 she says to herself, “The LORD has done this for me.”
Beginning next week, we will take time to pause and reflect on two of the gifts the Messiah brings: grace and peace. Our prayer is that during this time, much like Elizabeth, we may find moments of solitude to cherish the fulfillment of a wonderful promise. May we linger for a moment, in the stillness of our hearts, and whisper, “The LORD has done this for me.”
