Advent Devotional December 21: Written by Mary Lucille Jackson Rogers in 1992

Published December 21, 2019 by SMBC

The busy, hurried days before Christmas are over. The shopping has been done and the packages wrapped. The Christmas tree has been decorated. Around the house there are symbols of Christmas, ornaments, and decorations. The Christmas baking has been done. Pre-Christmas parties have been attended and given. The choirs have sung inspiring Christmas music. The family has gathered on Christmas morning to greet one another and to open the packages. Dinner has been cooked and served. The family has gathered around the table to eat. A special ?Thank You? has been said to God, not only for the food and the family members present (and those absent too), but for sending his Son, whose birthday we celebrate, to be born into this world of ours, to live and suffer and die and arise, that we might be saved. The food has been eaten, the table cleared, and the dishes washed, dried, and put away. Family members have returned to their homes.

Now comes one of my favorite times of the Christmas season. It is the five o?clock silent, candlelight Lord's Supper service. The last rays of afternoon sun shine through the beautiful stained-glass windows. It is the most beautiful time of day in our Sanctuary. And the candles on the railing at the altar twinkle. As we enter in quietness, those who have arrived before us sit with bowed heads. A calmness, a sense of peace floods my soul. I remember the words of the psalmist saying, ?Be still and know that I am God.? How awesome!

The organ plays and we participate in the Lord's Supper. I think, ?How great Thou art, Lord, and how great is Your love that You would send Your Son, Your only Son, and let Him suffer and die and rise from the dead that I might have everlasting life.? The love of God is beyond my comprehension.