The Christmas celebrations have come and gone for another year…

Hopefully you are still enjoying all the lights and decorations…

Just a few more days to linger with family and friends before we dive into our New Year’s resolutions.

When all is said and done, I pray that you are able to reflect on all the gifts of Christmas… I hope you can experience how it has enriched your spiritual lives.

Thinking on this, I was reminded of a program I frequently enjoy called “Finding Your Roots.” Maybe you have seen it, but the idea is that someone famous sits down and through the miracle of DNA testing they are able to map out their family tree.

The amazing thing is to watch the transformation of the participant. Most of them generally sit down with only a slight curiosity about their heritage. They usually begin by admitting that they have sometimes huge blank places in their family history. These are the voices that have for what ever reason been silenced through the generations… because of this they are willing to proceed, but have no expectations and so they begin with an air of sitting down to play some kind of new parlor game:-)

At some point in their story things heat up and a personal fact is uncovered that opens their eyes. They become moved by something in their ancestry, many times to tears. The blank places are beautifully filled in and they begin to see all the blessings of their forerunners…all the gentle connections that make up their individual genetic soup and how the individual flavors mix and mingle to give new meaning to their life.

They are changed.

They leave, never to be the same. Finding their story has given them inspiration and a source of pride. Things fit together and suddenly click into place.

And this is how it is with Christmas. This year,  I was able to see more clearly the importance of our spiritual roots to the ancestry of the Jesse Tree. To look at all those who came before Jesus and think upon how they had each been an important harbinger, preparing the way for the Messiah. Seeing Jesus in the manger provides an important hinge that connects the new to the old and when we see the baby Jesus, all those who traveled before become ours. The precious stories of the old testament are no longer only for the Jews and we all become connected to our spiritual past…

 

Simon took him in his arms and praised God saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation for the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel. ~ Luke 2: 29-32

Yes! To see and celebrate Christmas can change you. And I pray that you will be filled with the knowledge and inspiration of your spiritual roots.

May God’s Peace be with you!

And try not to eat to many cookies:))

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The story fosters obedience. When we remember the story, we love God and remain to God’s purposes. When we forget the story, we forget God’s purposes and who we are. the story defines identity.  ~ Embracing Creation: Hicks, Valentine and Wilson. p. 137

…the heart is commonly reached, not through the reason, but through the imagination, by means of direct impressions, by testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influences, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. ~ John Henry Newman (Discussion of Assent)

I highly recommend this CD for your collection. It will bring the family of God back around your table no matter where you might be living today.