Mitch and I got a double-dose of church this weekend - morning service at the Mt. Pleasant Community Church and evening service at the ever-wonderful Alma College Chapel. We don't usually go to Chapel because it's too late for us old folks, but I had an admissions announcement to make. Anyway, both services were great and I thought I'd tell you a little about them.
The Community Church is doing a whole series of sermons using The Chronicles of Narnia as a focal point. This first message was just kind of an introduction to the things we're going to be talking about over the course of the next month, but one of the main messages was that, like Lucy did in the wardrobe, we first need to open the door if we're seeking God. Then, once we've started on the journey, we just need to keep going further in, just like the children ventured further and further into Narnia.
Greg, the interim chaplain, gave the message at Alma and it was, appropriately, about Christmas. He pointed out that we as a society have taken all the things about Christmas that are supposed to be peripheral - gifts, decorations, etc. - and made them central to our celebration of Christmas when there is really one and only one thing that should be central in our minds during the Christmas season. That really made me think, because I LOVE the holidays. I love decorating and cooking and having people over and choosing gifts for my family and friends and celebrating all our traditions...but I need to remember that, when I really stop to contemplate the reason for our celebration, I don't need ANY of that to be full of joy this season. I need to cultivate a feeling of anticipation not for the gifts on Christmas morning but for the celebration of the birth of our Savior.
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