Christmas, 2012

[Dr. Manuel recently provided me with the Christmas letters he and his wife Linda have sent each year since 2001.
One of the annual letters has been posted each day over the last two weeks.]

Dr. and Mrs. Paul Manuel

Christmas 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Are you ready? ...Normally, such a question would refer to Christmas-related activities, like decorating or shopping. This year, though, it implies something dire not festive, an event that will overshadow even the impending, national fiscal cliff and one that is more imminent. It is nothing less than the end of the world.

If one believes the hype, the Mayan calendar has supposedly marked December 21, 2012 when a global catastrophe will destroy life on earth. Actually, most Mayan scholars assert that is not a proper interpretation of the documents, but doomsday is a more sensational story, even if it is not a credible one. This scenario is the latest prediction but is probably not the last. (Previously, the world was to end on October 21, 2011, but that day passed without incident.)

So, as the world will likely continue, even if we do go over the fiscal cliff, what does the Christmas holiday hold? It is an annual reminder, this year as in years past, that God has expressed His concern for us and has demonstrated that concern in a most personal way, by sending His son to live among us and, eventually, to give his life for us.

To be sure, there will be other significant events, including the end of the world. But they will not occur until God's program has run its course, and that program includes an encore appearance of Jesus. As we await that appearance, Jesus' admonition to his followers is "be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matt 24:44).

The difference between the supposed end of the world and the return of Jesus is that one has a specific date; the other does not, which makes preparing a different process in each case. When there is a specific date, you may wish for more time, but at least you can manage what time remains to your liking, such as eating excessive amounts of ice cream and chocolate cake without concern for cholesterol or weight gain. An unspecified date makes preparing more difficult (and dieting more practical). It means you must be on constant alert, with no opportunity to cram in the final hours.

Jesus' first advent was like his second advent will be, with little advance warning. He entered the world "when the time had fully come" (Gal 4:4). That may be God's preference in such matters. He does not want people rushing around at the last minute to prepare. He does not want them to get ready; He wants them to be ready. (The need for constant preparedness is also Jesus' point in several of his parables.)

As Christmas approaches and as we fall into the routine of decorating and shopping, we should not confuse routine with readiness. Although we do many of the same things this year that we did last year, we must be attentive to whatever role God may have for us to advance His plan. We observe Christmas in appreciation of what God did for us in the past, but it is also an affirmation that we believe He is still involved with us in the present as well as an anticipation that He has more in store for us in the future.

While we do not believe the latest date for the end of the world, it should underscore the difference in what we do believe, that God's plan for history is still on track and that the best is yet to come. May this season of celebration bring you joy as you contemplate what God did by sending His son and what He will yet do by sending him again.

Pastor and Linda