Nostalgia

"He Himself has said, 'I will never you nor forsake you."

- St. Paul, Hebrews 13:5

"Yet in thy dark streets shineth

    The everlasting light

The hopes and dreams of all the years

    Are met in Thee tonight."

- Phillips Brooks,  "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Is Christmas filled with as many nostalgic memories for you as it is for me? As the sights and sounds of the Christmas season begin to filter into my life and my home, I find myself reflecting on the faces and the sentimental moments of Christmases past...

...I can remember, like it was yesterday, driving through the snow and bitter cold in our 1960 Buick to see Grandpa Kuehl's annual tree-lighting. Grandpa was our "Clark Griswold" from the movie, Christmas Vacation! (Smile). Grandpa's long-since entered Heaven, but I can still smell his Borkum Riff Vanilla pipe tobacco as we proudly gazed upon… and became temporarily blinded by… his brilliantly illuminated tree.

...As Alexa offers up the mellow voice of Nat King Cole singing, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," I can still see Aunt Hazel bursting through our front door from the cold, with a thick wool scarf around her neck. She shakes off the snow from her bright red overcoat and shouts, "Hey, Kid!" ‘cause that's what she called my dad. "Come and get your Christmas gift!" We all knew what it was. It was the same every year - fruit cake. Always, heavy as a brick… Dad said it made a great doorstop the rest of the year. (Smile).

...Then there was that Christmas in 1969, when my favorite Uncle, Uncle David, was in Vietnam. He was my favorite because he bought me my first Red Ryder BB gun. As we sat around the tree that Christmas Eve, just before we opened all our gifts, we listened to a reel-to-reel cassette tape that David sent to us from his hooch in Da Nang… close to the DMZ. Grandma and my mom cried quietly, and my Grandpa had tears in his eyes as we listened to David's voice, half a world away, crack with emotion as he reminded us of how special "home" was to him and to us.

Ahh yes, the ghost of Christmas Past returns to haunt all of us who have seen a few Christmases come and go. Nostalgia, sentimentality, seasonal emotion… you can attempt to give an intellectual analysis of my psychological state or simply dismiss my ramblings as "visions of sugar plums"... But, I believe that even though you and I are separated this Christmas from so many faces from the past… Yet we are together… we are Connected… especially at Christmas. And here's why:

Because Jesus lives in our hearts and our homes!

Christmas is His birthday! As the Risen Lord, His presence spans the ages. Past and future are present in Him right now! Those we celebrated Jesus with yesterday are those who remain connected to us as we celebrate His birthday today!

As the Spirit of Christmas, He has united all of us… those from the past, those from the future… Together in the present as His forever family.

Listen, whether you're thinking of Jesus as the baby in the manger… or as the child whose parents escaped with Him to Egypt… or the teenager who was found in the temple… or the prophet overturning the tables of the money-changers… or the healer who restored sight to the blind… or the deliverer who set people free from their demons… or the teacher who revealed the Father's heart for you and I… or the Savior who died for our sins on Calvary's cross… or as the King of kings who rose from the dead to give you and I an eternal relationship with the Father…

The truth is… Jesus is here with you this Christmas! And, in His presence, you will feel the nearness of all of those you love and miss from Christmases past.

Sooo… Jesus comes to you this Christmas, my nostalgic friend, and whispers to you, "Peace for the hopes and dreams of all the years are met in Me tonight." AMEN

Pastor Harry

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