Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Are you feeling that this time is hallowed and gracious? Are your nights wholesome, free of evil witchery? I hope you are having a blessed Advent.

He dressed himself all in his best, and at last got out into the streets. The people were by this time pouring forth, as he had seen them with the Ghost of Christmas Present; and walking with his hands behind him, Scrooge regarded every one with a delighted smile. He looked so irresistibly pleasant, in a word, that three or four good-humoured fellows said, “Good morning, sir! A merry Christmas to you!” And Scrooge said often afterwards, that of all the blithe sounds he had ever heard, those were the blithest in his ears.
* * * *
He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows: and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness. In the afternoon he turned his steps towards his nephew’s house.

—A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Scrooge went to church. I know that Catholic, and I assume Anglican, churches have a tradition of midnight Mass on Christmas, and I imagine other masses are held on Christmas Day. Most evangelical churches don’t have a tradition of holding worship services on Christmas morning. Some have some kind of Christmas Eve service. Our old Southern Baptist church had a Christmas Eve Candlelight Lord’s Supper service at about 6:00 P.M. on Christmas Eve so that people could still get home in time for family festivities. Another Southern Baptist church we attended a long time ago had a silent Christmas Eve service. Signs at the doors enjoined silence upon entering the church and asked that worshippers maintain that silence until they went out the doors. Each person was given a candle, and the church was lit with candles. There was music, and the Word was read from the pulpit, but the worshippers were silent. It was quite refreshing.

What does your church do for Christmas worship —either on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day? How will your family incorporate worship inot your Christmas celebration?

Lars Walker tells a parable of “God with us” at Brandywine Books.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

I think we’ll sing all seven verses for devotional time this morning. My how the clan will squawk!

Today begins the waiting for Christmas, for the coming of the incarnate Lord. I’m going to try, good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, to post something inspirational/literary for each day of Advent.

Do you have a story? That’s what blogs were made for. In this season, tell your story of how the Lord Jesus Christ has made himself known to you. Or if you haven’t experienced the miracle of Christmas, read about some other people who have, and maybe your faith will come alive through their stories.