One year, I had a Spirit of Joy Advent calendar. Each day leading up to Christmas, my calendar celebrated joy, gladness, happiness, merriment and cheer in every possible way.

And all that chirpy delight wore me down. After a couple of weeks, I longed for a prompt to slow down, be quiet, rest, remember, pray. I needed some “all is calm, all is bright” rather than insisting that all my days be merry and bright.

This is a particular time to be especially jolly. It’s a time that invites us into the wonder of the bright lights of the community Christmas tree, the sharing of holiday music and every kind of cookie imaginable.

It is also a time when the darkness invites us to pause, to breathe. It is a time to be still. It makes room for a moment of peace in a world that seems to have forgotten how to be loving and kind to one another.

It is a time of memory. A time of recalling Christmases past as you pull out ornaments for the tree or prepare a festive table with one less place setting.

We often overlook the comma in the carol “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.” It reminds us all that in the midst of being merry, God gives us rest. We rejoice in both gifts: gladness of heart and the renewal of body and spirit with rest. We need both, in these holiday days and all the days to come.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, indeed.

Pastor Sue Bahleda
Island of Faith Lutheran Church