At Home In Advent

The following words for reflection are taken and adapted from “At Home In Advent - A domestic journey from Advent to Epiphany” from Gordon Giles (BRF - Bible Reading Fellowship). The entire book is available from Eden.co.uk and would be recommended to get a fuller experience of this time of devotion and meditation.

The purpose of these devotional is to give you something of an everyday object or motion which can focus our thinking through Advent. There are 3 sections:

Travelling in Advent
At Home in Advent
The run up to Christmas

This is a journey…

Christmas Tree: Real redemption

Read: John 1:19 - 29

I remember our first tree growing up, it was white and silver with absolutely nothing natural about it! Of course there was then the coloured lights and copious amounts of tinsel dressing this tree… How many other houses across the province would tell a similar story?

Over the past number of years more and more people are moving to the real tree experience. Making a family tradition of going to choose their tree, decorate in tastefully and enjoy the rich aroma of the Christmas season. Of course this brings the question of when you should put your tree? Early? Late? The real tradition of Christmas Eve?

I remember, living in Europe, that it was just as important as to when your tree came down! Only because the local councils would have a certain date they would come by to collect your real tree for recycling.

There are many who now think environmentally about their trees… only natural, too much plastic in the others ones. Some go further and start waving their banners of the carbon impact of Christmas travel, the levels of food indulgence and waste… there are cries of Go Natural! Go real!

What is the “real” Christmas? Surely the real Christmas isn’t about saving the planet - as highly important as that is - but about how all of creation would be saved through Christ. Without Christ we are left with a mass of stuff…alas too many people are made happy temporarily with stuff.

Pray for those who are struggling to make ends meet yet wanting to buy more.