Enjoy todays Advent Devotional, offered by Rev. Valerie Robideaux, an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church who serves as the Director of Professional Discernment and Chaplain at Centenary College of Louisiana. Valerie works to prepare undergraduate students for the practical and theological challenges facing the church and the world in the 21st Century. Valerie received her B.A. in Religious Studies from Centenary and completed her M.Div. at Candler School of Theology. Valerie and her husband, Joseph Robideaux of Lifewater Church, have two daughters. Sadly, my first response to the impending holiday season is not to shout “Hallelujah” but sometimes to roll my eyes and sigh, “Oh lawd.” Now I admit my exacerbated response sounds terrible, troubling, and blasphemous. And, to be honest, it has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. It has everything to do with a year’s worth of events crammed into three weeks, because each of my communities and sub-communities must celebrate Christmas over a potluck or formal reception. In addition to the holiday season, my family celebrates our children’s birthdays during the holidays. So on top of the red and green festivities, I also get to throw an Elsa blue birthday party for our daughters. The madness!! Psalm 148 convicts me to simplify. My overwhelming calendar prevents me from entering into the season expectantly, humbly, and full of praise. While I bemoan the litany of events of my calendar, the psalmist beseeches a litany of creations to praise their maker. This reminds me how very radical Christianity remains in society today. God’s love is still so radical today that people can celebrate Christmas and never recognize it, experience it, praise it. What have we done? How have we turned our very celebration of Emmanuel, “God with us” into a complete distraction from the miracle of God with us? Prayer: Oh Lord, forgive me. Forgive us. “Praise from all who love God!”
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 11:55:00 +0000
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