In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
If the season leading up to December 25th is “the most wonderful time of the year” then the time between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day is the most confusing time of the year. You all, of course, know that Christmas doesn’t actually begin until December 25 and lasts until January 5; but if you look around the world, it doesn’t seem like much Christmas is left. You can find trees that used to have ornaments adorning them discarded on the curb. You won’t find any Christmas sales or Christmas music on the radio – they’ve already got your money, so Christmas is no longer useful to the capitalistic machine; they’re already gearing up to sell you chocolate for Valentine’s Day or a mattress on President’s Day. Those who insist that we keep Christ in Christmas have moved on to the next culture war and are already feigning outrage about something else. The gifts, which for too many are the highlight of Christmas, have been given, and perhaps even already exchanged at the store. The parties are over and decorations have become passé. So what is left for us to do with Christmas as we bide our time until we get overly excited about getting to use a new wall calendar?