Christmas Recumbence

Christmas isn't over yet.  The other day I walked into Kroger and observed all the Christmas decorations were removed, having found Valentine's day products in their place.  I even noticed a stand for Cadbury eggs!  According to the American calender Christmas has ended, Santa is back at the north pole, and more importantly buyers are no longer interested in Christmas products.  However, this should not be the case for the church.  The life of the people of God should not be motivated by the trends of secular society.  No, Christ calls us to a moment of recumbence in the reality of Christmas.  Like all things in the Christian life, Christmas takes time seriously.  We take time to reflect on the reality of the self-giving love of the Son.  The Son, who was not bound by time, felt no pain, never knew fatigue or hunger, embraced the full realities of such things.  He became acquainted with the pain of an empty stomach, and the challenge of uneven roads and tall foothills.  Moreover, he embraced and redeemed time.  Jesus not only entered into time, he showed all humanity what to do with the time we have.  We are reminded that time is precious and limited.  But, what of Christmas?  Christmas is the annual reorientation of the life of a Christian.  It is a season that reorders our priorities, by reminding us that reality can only be understood through Jesus.  Before we move too quickly from Jesus' birth, take time seriously.  These few days should be a time in which we place our calender before the manger of Christ, and allow him to determine how we will embrace this New Year.