Christmas is Not Over

Did you know that there are twelve days of Christmas?

I love singing the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Recently at the Hammond Kiwanis, we not only sang the song but acted out the parts. It was quite entertaining. There were ladies dancing, maids a milking, and lords a leaping. You get the picture. It was quite a festive occasion. You see Christmas does not end as quickly as some believe.

At the Christmas Eve service at my church Monday night, I was paid the highest compliment as a preacher. One of my elementary aged little boys ran up to me after the service smiling. He said, "Dr. Jack that was a great service! Let's do it again!!!"

There are Scrooges that try to minimize the Christmas season and the Christmas Spirit. They want to just pick up the paper and then get back to life. Scrooges are all too quick to remind us that the work of the world waits for us. Then there are some of us still playing. I think that the northern part of the country benefits from "snow days" when you just have to continue to stay at home.

I often wonder about the shepherds after they left the manger seeing the baby Jesus. The scriptures tell us that they were praising God. But what about the day after? Things always look different the day after.

Do you think the shepherds just went back to the fields and went about their business? Do you think that perhaps one of them might have seen that God was inviting them to a new life? Or perhaps they remained a shepherd but gained the shepherd's heart like David—one that sought the Lord. Do you think that maybe one of them might have tried to keep up with the baby, Jesus and their family? Maybe they made an annual journey to where Jesus lived just to see how he was grown. Do you think that maybe, just maybe one of the shepherds was in the crowd when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey? Do you believe that one of them could have heard the excitement of Jesus' disciples telling about the resurrection of the Lord?

The Bible just does not tell us. But it invites us to wonder. If you read the life of Jesus, you will find that there are many uncompleted stories about people that Jesus cured or Jesus met. Time and time again we simply do not know.

I believe that the great events or holy spaces in life do not simply come and go. They linger. The meaning and significance are too great to be a fleeting moment. Christmas, IF Jesus is born in your life again, does not simply after the presents are opened, trash cleared out, and the tree taken down. The Christmas of the faith is just a beginning.

May the birth of Jesus stir you into a living relationship with Jesus! Christmas is just beginning! …and a partridge in a pear tree…

Pray for me as I pray for you.