Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
It's all about the calendar.
The question is, which one?
By now, 98% of the trees are down.
Many bring them down on Jan 1.
A smaller group holds out till Jan 6
when the church celebrates Epiphany,
the arrival of the Magi to see the Christ child.
That is all good when you are living by the Gregorian calendar.
But what if you are still on the Julian calendar?
Or how about the Lunar calendar, or the Chinese calendar?
Or what if you adhere to the belief held by many Biblical scholars,
that Christ was actually born in the spring?
As for me and my tree,
we are on a Superbowlian calendar.
My tree stands proud and strong until the day before the Super Bowl.
If I had my way,
it would stay up into April when it was no longer dark
when I arrive home from work.
The needles that free fall from the branches by late January
tell me otherwise.
I like keeping my tree up into January
because I like the extra light during the short days of winter.
Light is what we all seek.
It is key in the story of the Magi.
During the Advent season
(or Christmas shopping season depending on your calendar observance)
I was in my home office during the early morning hours.
It was still dark as I sat at my desk paying some monthly bills.
Nothing says holiday cheer
like paying bills.
As I worked through my checkbook register,
I began to think how much had changed in my life
during the past two years.
This Christmas was just going to feel different.
The early morning darkness
and the thought of celebrating Christmas without some of my loved ones,
left me with a sadness in my spirit.
I was looking for light
and all I could feel was darkness.
Have you ever had a moment like that?
Then it happened.
From the corner of my eye,
I saw a soft glow of light appear.
At first I thought it was merely a reflection,
but then I saw it.
It was the memorial candle
given to me the previous year at an All Saints service
to remember my mom.
Months ago, I had placed it in a cup on my desk.
I had forgotten about it as it was hidden between pens, pencils, and markers.
But in that dark hour of early morning, it came on and glowed brightly.
Some would call it a coincidence,
Some would say, I must have accidentally touched it.
But it wasn't.
And I didn't
For this type of candle to glow,
one needed to firmly push down on the bulb to ignite it.
I hadn't touched it.
But there it was, my mom's memorial candle glowing brightly.
It could have come on at anytime when I wasn't in the office.
But it came on when I was there,
and when I needed the encouragement.
Was that any less of a sign then the star of the magi?
(that by the way would have had to have traveled
east to west, THEN turned north to south,
to go from Jersalem to Bethlehem according to the narrative in Matthew CH 2)
I don't believe in the dead communicating with the living.
But I do believe in a God who wishes to speak to His children,
particularly when they are looking for light in a dark place.
So for me,
my Epiphany occured in December.
It was the day that I was reminded that darkness does not drown out the light,
that death doesn't trump life,
the evil does does not win out over good.
Because the light of the world is in charge.
And nothing will ever change that.
May you celebrate an Epiphany when you need it the most.
May the light of your Christmas tree glow as long you wish.
May any darkness you encounter be engulfed by the light
of our God who loves you too much to leave you in darkness.
And that can happen any day of the year,
no matter what calendar you observe.
Now I need to get back to paying bills.
Next bill up ......
the electric bill of course.
Goodbye darkness.
"I am the light of the world; those who follow me
shall not walk in the darkness,
but have the light of life."
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