Is It Christmas?

            We've had a couple of big fantastic Christmas concerts in the church this week. Yes, Christmas. In Advent. With the wide, 13-foot-tall tree trimmed and twinkling, with wreaths mounted on pillars sharing their scent. For many of our guests, these events *are* the start of Christmas.

            BUT! someone said to me. IT'S NOT CHRISTMAS.

            True. It's Advent. And that's important. It's not yet Christmas. It's a season for the Jesse tree to teach the biblical stories to our children week after week; and a time for our prayers to guide us increasingly towards the light.

            However, part of the not yet is living in the now of the presence of Christ. It's an anachronistic season even within the church's definitions. It's not yet - and yet: now.

            For some, the Christmas decorations ought to remain in storage until the 24th. For others, they begin to creep into the sacred spaces from the offset of Advent. There's a tension there about what is and is not appropriate in this season.

            Interestingly, the tension between the secular and sacred of the season isn't a topic of consternation in the secular world: it's only debated in the realm of the religious.

            So why do we do it? What are we hoping to accomplish by it?

            Is it Christmas? No. It's Advent - and that's important.

            But for many who are seeking Christmas - who are seeking the presence of love and grace and joy in their lives - Advent doesn't mean much, if anything. For many, Pre-Christmas is the season we're in, and the quest for compassion and kinfolk is well underway.

            So if the purpose of the church reaching out at this time of year is to invite people away from a world of judgement and criticism and into a place of community, care, and connection, why would we let a tree or a song stand in our way? What's wrong with the church providing a little bit of wiggle room to extend a welcome space with a lighted tree and a wreath on the door? This may just be the entryway to a conversation about what we're really about. For Jesus came in humble birth not to judge about dates and times, or tinsel and trinkets. Jesus came to model for us the welcome and inclusion that we want to see at Christmas.

            So maybe in Advent, we light the tree, and deck the halls, and Falalalala as much as we want: being intentional to do it with love and compassion and share the true joy of the season. May the blessings of Advent and the merriment of Christmas bring our hearts ever closer to God; may the celebration of the Christchild enlighten our lives - whenever - and with whatever decoration - our spiritual journey takes us.