Stop, Look, Listen

 December 24, 2020

Nothing is the same. It’s like everything familiar is being torn away. Traditional Christmas gatherings are on hold, and for many area families, the future looks bleak and foreboding as our governor chose this time of the year to decree the closing of the Gowanda Correctional Facility, the main source of employment in the village. Talk about Bah! Humbug! Even our Christmas Eve service is different from before; abbreviated—only a half hour, only a couple Christmas carols. Many churches’ services are live-streamed only. 

It’s tempting to wallow in misery, but perhaps these cataclysmic changes are offering a unique opportunity to recalibrate our spiritual GPS. While on the one hand, the Bible keeps our feet grounded in tradition (we are told on many occasions to hold to the faith “once for all delivered”), on the other hand, the Bible also assures us that God is always doing something new, and it’s hard to get much newer than a newborn Baby who is given to be our Savior. 

As I write, the packages under our tree stretch from one end of the stairwell to the other; we are gorged with gifts. Tomorrow there will be a frenzy of activity, wrapping paper flying everywhere. And suddenly, it will be over—just as it was last year and the year before that. This year, without the usual flurry of Christmas concerts and programs, our evenings have been quiet. We’ve had to slow down. We Americans are all about speed. We want to go faster, to accomplish more. Fast cars, fast food, fast religion. I’ve noticed however, that when we slow down, we notice things we missed when we were going along full bore. A walk alongside the road is immensely different than driving down that same road.

I like to keep busy, so slowing down isn’t always easy for me, but this year, I don’t want to miss the opportunity that’s been dropped in my lap. I’ve wasted enough time railing and straining against things I can’t control. When I was a kid, we were taught that when approaching a railroad crossing, to stop, look, and listen. Not bad advice for tonight. The evening will be different; I don’t want to miss the new thing Jesus Christ wants to do in me.