A Glimpse of the Kingdom

Last year ("Tis the Season") I confessed that I am one of those who doesn't mind the "commercialization of Christmas." I love the Christmas season. I love watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas carols, and walking through bedecked malls full of kids climbing onto the laps of Santas. Reflecting on the fact that I'm clearly not alone in this, I argued that I think the Christmas season's popularity lies in the fact that it evokes a desire to be better people and live in a better world, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Nevertheless, the season's rampant consumerism is in need of a corrective, and that's where the Church comes in (or at least should come in). As the pastor of our church noted a couple of weeks ago, one of the Church's role, if not its key role, during the Christmas season is to offer people a glimpse of God's coming kingdom, a "place" where all are invited, the hungry are fed, the oppressed are set free, and peacemakers are called children of God. No easy task, to be sure. But one very much in need.