Happy New Year!
Your first thought after reading the title might be isn’t he a bit early this year? Christmas has not arrived yet and he is wishing us a Happy New Year? The Happy New Year is not referencing the calendar year, but rather the church year. We celebrated the first day of the church year this past Sunday. Advent marks the start of the church calendar. The Season of Advent is a t ime of preparation for the coming birth of Jesus. Many homes have Advent Wreaths. Advent devotionals are available as each day draws closer to Christmas. People buy Advent calendars to open another window each day. Some Advent calendars have a treat for each day as well.
The church season of Advent does not concern itself with all the other preparations leading up to Christmas. This focus is the manger bed for Jesus. At Calvary we include the students as they lead worship on Wednesday evenings. They share the Good News that Advent brings. Jesus does not rest alone in the manger bed. As Martin Luther’s hymn, Ah, Dearest Jesus shares:
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled Within my heart, that it may be A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
We invite Jesus to live within our hearts filling us with His love. Many people make resolutions at the start of a new year. Let us also join this Advent New Year resolution focusing on the preparation as we walk towards Bethlehem in celebration of our Savior’s birth.
