Day 13: Stay Out of Bethlehem

 

Day 13

When I was a seeker

I sought both night and day,

I asked the Lord to help me,

And he showed me the way.

“Mom,” Merry repeated, “of course, you can write a perfectly good Christmas sermon. You’ve been writing for years and years.” Merry hopped easily over rocks almost skipping along the trail. Celia kept up easily, only without the skipping. The spirit was willing but the knees were weak. 

“But a sermon,” Celia said for the fourteenth time. 

“Good sermons are just stories. Jesus used a lot of stories in his sermons. That’s why we remember them. Just write your story and read it. Everyone will be feeling so spiritual with the candles and the star and the carols that anything you say will seem holy.”

“Holy! They expect me to be holy? No, I’ll just have to call Althea and tell them to get somebody else. There must be a retired pastor somewhere who has a few dozen Christmas sermons tucked away gathering dust.”

“Why would you want to hear a dusty sermon?” Merry countered. “Talk to Pastor Alaina and then sit down at your new laptop in your lovely office and get to work. You can do it, Mom. I have confidence in you!” 

They had reached the highest part of the trail. A glowing valley spread out before them, the light from the morning sun glinting off the rocks, highlighting here a ragged leaf and there a spot of snow. A stream trickled cheerfully as it tumbled over rocks and sticks in its path. Towering trees waved in the breeze, the same breeze tickling Celia’s face. Birds twittered. Clouds drifted above. The smell of pine perfumed the air. 

“This is a holy place. I wish I could wrap it up for the Christmas Eve service. I wouldn’t have to add a word.”

“Put it into your story,” Merry said. She glanced at her phone. “Oh my gosh, I’ve got to get moving.”

Taking one more long look, Celia trailed behind Merry as they hiked back to their cars wondering, How could she put holiness into words?

Advent Challenge: Find a holy place in God’s world. Give thanks. Then share it.

Prayer: Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born. Lord, remind us to seek you in the holy places of the earth. Help us share the good news of Christ everywhere. Amen