We don’t send Christmas cards any more. Cost and time are the biggest factors. That, and in a world of instant, on-line social media communication, it just seems too dated and slow. I am an old soul in many things, but not when it comes to Hallmark and “snail mail”.

I do hope and pray that we will never give up on the printed, written word. Like God’s Holy Word. Yeah, sure, you can get a Bible app for your phone. A pretty cool, world-changing thing. You can even read the words of the prophets in the palm of your hand. It’s a true blessing of the Advent season to get these long-distance, ancient words from Hebrew scripture that connect verbatim with the Greek New Testament.

Promise fulfillment. Hope and anticipation. Advent and the waiting for the Christmas event excites me perhaps even more than December 24th-25th. Reality crashes in with the pressure of leading and putting on the “perfect” Christmas Eve service, hoping that the gifts you got your relatives will be the right size or something they will actually use. The stress of strained relations that you try to put the best face on.

Do yourself a favor and read Isaiah 40, Micah 5:2-4, John 1, Luke 1:46b-55.

Christmas cards, they are. They will pick up your beleaguered soul. Filled with promise of what is to come. More importantly, who is to come. Our Hallmarks and Daysprings bring glad tidings, but nothing compares to the unconditional love that springs from the Good News of great JOY! That is ours in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Art