EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2021 I began a new venture writing a newspaper column titled "Finding Faith" for the Forum Communications Co. network of newspapers and websites. I was asked to contribute to the company's ongoing conversation about faith, lending a Lutheran and fairly ecumenical approach to the discussion. The column was published in several of the company's papers and websites, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. This column originally appeared as a "Finding Faith" column on Dec. 20, 2024.
By The Rev. Devlyn Brooks
If your household was anything like ours this Advent, it was impossible to find time to quietly reflect on the anticipation of Christ’s birth and his imminent return.
Life’s obligations -- both family and professional life -- kept us on the run from Thanksgiving right up until now, and stole the joy from what should be a reflective and happy period of the year.
Maybe you feel the same.
So this is my prayer for you this week of Christmas: May the Holy Spirit grace you with some sabbath time in which you can reflect on the true meaning of the birth of Christ and the peace that brings to the awaiting world.
For me, that time is the morning of Christmas Day.
For years now, in both the media profession I was a part of, and now in the pastor world full-time, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day features a slow period. While others are out celebrating, there never was much news made during this week. And, as a pastor, the phone seldom rings during this time.
Which means that after our church holds its beautiful and beloved Christmas Eve service, our flock heads to their homes to be with loved ones and enjoy the season’s festivities for the next week.
And this sets up a sort of school’s out for vacation period for me!
When I wake up on Christmas Day, my calendar is fairly empty, a rarity the rest of the year.
In addition, most of our children are in a stage of adult life in which it’s nearly impossible to get all of them home on the same day to celebrate our family Christmas, and it’s rarely Christmas Day.
So that means that in recent years, our Christmas Day has consisted of plugging in the Christmas lights, turning on Christmas movies, snuggling into our living room with the two dogs and the two cats and letting the day pass peacefully by.
This may include the reading of a newspaper, some snack grazing from the Christmas leftovers, maybe the opening of a new book or even the listening of a new record.
But, most importantly there is no rush to anything.
It's in this very brief respite from the busy world that I find the peace of Christ’s birth. It’s on this day that I have the briefest of time to reflect on what changes the year has brought and what possibilities lie in store for us for the new year.
Wow! … What a spectacular luxury Christmas Day brings us to be still, to let our racing minds quiet and to let our focus return to the most important of life's things: loved ones (both furry and not), friends and our relationship with our newborn king, Emmanuel, who promises to dwell with us the rest of the dizzying year round. Amen.
Devlyn Brooks is the interim CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.
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