During mass on Guadete Sunday the priest was talking about being patient and patiently waiting for the Lord to come at Christmas – and how it’s hard to wait for Christmas Day. My mind started to wander and I don’t know what else the priest said.
But here’s what I was thinking about…
Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ coming – we celebrate that original Nativity and also look forward to Jesus’ second coming. It’s a season of preparation. We are to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ coming.
We are supposed to be patient yes, but we also have to actively prepare –perhaps go to Confession, actually pause and spend time reflecting on the purpose of the season. (Classic homily points for Advent; so the priest was probably talking about that, too.)
BUT I had the thought: What if Jesus came on Christmas Eve? That is – What if the second coming of Jesus happened on Christmas Eve?
My next thought was one of disappointment: “Oh man! We’d miss Christmas!”
…and then I scoffed at myself and paused because that is a very interesting response…
Am I not supposed to be focusing on Jesus and the whole actual point of Christmas?
The whole point is not all the joy that we typically experience with Christmas and the Christmas season. All that Classic Christmas stuff. BUT the ultimate point is to prepare and be ready for Jesus’ return!
If Jesus returned on Christmas Eve that should be the ultimate joy! I shouldn’t think of being disappointed about missing Christmas, but I should be the most ecstatic I’ve ever been because I’d get to experience the truest “Christmas” possible!
So perhaps this is an indication that I am not properly prepared for Christmas and otherwise! I had better stop being so distracted and start focusing on the proper purpose and reason not just for the season but for everything Jesus!!
I’m going to be sitting with this thought over the coming days and trying to get myself to properly prepare for Christmas!
Give God Your Yes 