tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048575444859487507.post6634356292758880252..comments2023-09-12T10:10:57.773-04:00Comments on thinking-out-loud: Kinda Happy, Kinda SadRev. Rick Stuckwischhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10664716292792101540noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048575444859487507.post-84732786758659859262007-12-28T00:32:00.000-05:002007-12-28T00:32:00.000-05:00Perhaps I have given the wrong impression. I don'...Perhaps I have given the wrong impression. I don't regard the exchange of gifts, nor family gatherings and other festivities as "worldly." Nor do I have any sense that such things are inherently at odds with the ChristMass. I certainly don't regard it as an either/or. The fact that I do not have the time or energy to engage in such things on Christmas Day, myself, does not mean that I expect anyone else to forgo those opportunities, as they may be able. I regret having given any such impression.<BR/><BR/>My point, in this respect, was really quite the opposite. I am saddened and chagrined when I hear it argued that the Divine Service must give way for the sake of other activities. It seems to me that such a rationale is where the true ChristMass is placed at odds with anything and everything else. I am quite happy for Christians to enjoy any and all of those things, in faith and with thanskgiving, as you say. All things are given by God to be received with thanks. If I wrote something that sounded as though family gatherings and celebrations were "worldly" in a negative sense, that was not my intention at all, nor my point.<BR/><BR/>What I do regard as "worldly," and what makes me terribly sad, is the notion that "Christmas" derives from the gatherings and activities of temporal earthly families, and not from the Gospel of the Word-made-Flesh. By the same token, Christians who live by faith in that Gospel are free -- free even to miss the Divine Service on the 25th of December -- and free to celebrate in all sorts of ways with their families and friends.<BR/><BR/>I did try to suggest and convey that Christian love may in fact lead a pious and faithful Christian to be with family instead of in church on Christmas Day. I meant that quite sincerely and seriously. But, as I also have said, what an individual Christian may do for the sake of love, in the freedom of the Gospel, is quite another matter than for a pastor or congregation to not even hold the Divine Service on Christmas Day. That is not only to miss the point entirely, in my opinion, but to deprive the neighbor of receiving the gifts of Christ in celebration of His birth.<BR/><BR/>I hope this clarification is helpful, lest I be guilty of burdening consciences with the Law, where I intend only and always to extol the Gospel. My desire and prayer are that all people would live by faith from the gifts of the Gospel, in love for their neighbors in the world. Such faith and love surely do include a place for the joyful and generous exchange of gifts, and for the enjoyment of God's many temporal blessings, as well.Rev. Rick Stuckwischhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10664716292792101540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048575444859487507.post-41686446251592303272007-12-27T23:16:00.000-05:002007-12-27T23:16:00.000-05:00This was only a secondary remark in your post, but...This was only a secondary remark in your post, but I don't think we have to place the ChristMass and the activities that you labeled as worldly against each other. The "worldly" activities of gift giving, gathering with family, celebrating in homes and eating with thanksgiving, when done with a pious and faithful heart, go hand in hand with the Mass. They are an outgrowth and expression of the joy we have in Christ's Nativity. Even to shop beforehand or prepare Christmas cards during Advent, when done with the right spirit, are not out of place but preparation for the upcoming season, much as we might prepare in Advent for the Christmas liturgies. I understand and agree with you about neglecting the Divine Service on the Nativity of Our Lord--that is a cause for great sorrow--but it is not the worldly activities that are to blame, but, as always, our sinful hearts that fail to value the gifts of God.<BR/><BR/>Including these worldly activities in our Christmas activities, I find, grants an even fuller celebration of the holiday, for in doing so we both receive with thanksgiving the Gospel of Christ, and express our love with and for our neighbor.Moriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11304644291440502044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048575444859487507.post-67690432234651629732007-12-26T14:35:00.000-05:002007-12-26T14:35:00.000-05:00I feel very much like you do today!I feel very much like you do today!Lutheran Lucciolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06207851105681940388noreply@blogger.com