December 17 and 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday of Advent

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel", which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18–25

Reading this passage from Matthew made me think of being a child and waiting for Christmas to arrive. Seven more days! How will I be able to wait that long? It seems like Christmas will never get here! As a child, time seemed to drag on and on. They say as you get older, time flies by. In these older years, I think, “Oh no! Only seven days until Christmas!”

I remember when I visited Helen at Artman. She was sitting in her wheelchair in front of the small television in her room. That’s where she was always sitting when I visited. I asked her, “Helen, they say as you get older, time seems to go faster. You said that you sit here and watch television all day. Do the days tend to drag on?” Helen said, “You know Pastor, it seems like I wake up, take a few breaths, and it’s time to go to bed again.”

Time is fleeting. Christmas will be here – ready or not! Christmas is when Jesus came to earth to dwell among us. He was only here for 33 short years, but what an impact he had in such a short time. Let’s cherish the time we have and enjoy it as the gift God intended it to be.

Eternal God, our time on earth is but a blip on the screen of Eternity. However, when our time on earth is over, we begin enjoying Eternity for a very long time. Let the gift of Eternal Life help us to enjoy this life. We pray this through your Son Jesus Christ, the most timeless gift of all. Amen.

The Rev. Bruce Todd is pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Lafayette Hill, PA and is a member of the Liberty Lutheran Advancement Committee.