Today I invite you to share in a short journey with a few local pastors and myself. We would appreciate if you allowed us the opportunity to share our thoughts with you on the changes that have occurred over the years; changes that have taken away from Sunday being a day to share with Christ, family and neighbors. If you are one who still shares in these practices on a Sunday, fantastic, but if you are one of the many who struggle to fit everything into your schedule, let us share our thoughts with you. Maybe we can help you to see things in a new light.

The season we celebrate in the Christian church at this time of year is a time to remember the fullness of Christ. It reminds us of the hope, peace, joy and love that God sent to the world in the form of Jesus. In these things we find the fullness of the Savior and all that He brings forth to the world. Unfortunately, the world has never fully embraced this, either today or in Jesus’ day. And yet, come Christmas Eve most churches in our area will be full; because people come looking for these wonderful sensations of the heart and mind. And Christ does not disappoint as this is the phenomenon of Christmas. These feelings most people search for throughout their lives are found on that one winter day in church.

Think about how as you gather in the sanctuary on Christmas Eve, a feeling of peace begins to settle into your soul as you take your seat. Then as you sing the hymns and recite the words of the liturgy that feel as soothing as a timeworn comfy shirt, you can’t help but experience a sense of hope. As you hear the story of Jesus’ birth once again your heart begins to swell with a feeling that can only be described as what true love feels like as the goosebumps form on your arms. As the service moves closer to its completion and the candles are lit that you and everyone else around you are holding, calmness prevails as everyone sings once again the hymn “Silent Night,” which always sounds as if heavenly angels are leading the singing. There is a joy that wells up as the truth of how magnificent our God truly is overtakes any sense of reality we may have been experiencing as we are moved into a spiritual realm that cannot be explained, but only experienced. Oh, what an occasion it is to come and encounter such a phenomenon on Christmas Eve. Christmas most certainly is a special time of year.

As I consider this special manifestation of our Lord during Christmas it makes me wonder why so many do not find this same experiential phenomenon during the rest of the church year. Are we not looking for this experience other than at Christmas? Certainly God is present and waiting to come to us in the same way every time we allow time to sit with God in worship. Maybe the world has convinced us Christmas is the only time we can experience the love, hope, peace and joy of Almighty God.

During this special time of year, please think about what makes the Christmas service so special to you. Then consider how we perform hymns and rituals each Sunday that could help you have the same phenomenal experience during the rest of the church year. As you experience the indwelling of God on Christmas Eve and as you go home from that service experiencing God with you and in you, consider the feeling. Consider how good it feels and how uplifted you are as you have experienced the sensations of hope, peace, joy and love — the emotions so many in the world search for and rarely find. And as you relish those sensations or touches of God consider how the same practices that brought you to that wonderfully meaningful state are the same things that are practiced each and every Sunday during worship. There is no doubt in my mind God wants you to have that same meaningful experience each time you come to worship His Holy Name.

Blessings to you and thank you for your time. As that special day nears when we are reminded of God’s glorious gift to the world, may you experience the holy touch of God.