spirituality

December 25, 2025 – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Rev. Dr. Richard D. Booker Leave a comment

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:23-24)

For me, it’s not really the Christmas Season until I hear Andy Williams burst out in song, “It’s the most Wonderful Time of the Year!” Yet, I know for many this time of year is not so wonderful. Aside from the depression and loneliness that many feel, the stress is overwhelming for a lot of us. I can’t help but wonder though if the season would be more wonderful if we all remembered to stay full of wonder. I believe our posture toward Christmas, and more importantly toward the God of Christmas, determines how we experience the season. James has a stark warning for believers. When we forget to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, and forget to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are like a person who sees himself in a morro and immediately forgets what we look like when we walk away. Perhaps part of the mystery, of the calling Christmas is to stop and take inventory, to self-reflect, to examine out lives more deeply. Paul echoes this sentiment when he says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

It is no coincidence that the theme of self-reflection, of assessing the world and one’s place in it seems to be a recurring theme so many classic Christmas stories. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is confronted with his own past, with the present reality of those outside himself, and the future ramification of his actions and inactions on the world around him. Through that crisis of self-discovery, Scrooge finds himself wanting and emerges with a newfound sense of wonder and awe at Christmas.

And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

– Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol in Prose : Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. December 1843, Page 66)

In It’s Wonderful Life, George Bailey can’t see the beauty and miracle of a life well lived past his own sense of failure. Not until Clarence helps him see the impact his life has had on the world around him, is he able to untangle his feelings of disillusionment, dissatisfaction, and disappointment like a jumbled strand of Christmas lights and see that “No man is a failure who has friends.” This is a little of what Jesus was talking about when he admonished us to “turn and become like little children.”

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)

Perhaps, if we remember to wonder at the miracle of Emmanuel, to see the wonder of creation, to esteem the wonder of our own lives, then Christmas will once again be wonderFULL to us.

God bless us, every one!

Let’s Pray!

Gracious and Loving Father:

Heavenly Father, in this holy season of Advent, we thank You for the miraculous gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, whose birth brought light and hope into the world. Fill our hearts with the wonder and awe of that first Christmas, reminding us that the true meaning isn’t in gifts, but in the salvation You offered. 

Make us to see beyond the traditions to the divine love at the center of it all. Open our eyes to Your presence, that we may experience the profound wonder of this holy season and carry its peace forward. 

In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

On Service in the Local Church

Rev. Dr. Richard D. Booker Leave a comment

Therefore, it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.” The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:8, 11-13)

Much can be said, has been said, will be said about the need for Christians to volunteer in their local church. The fact is, the Church runs on the generous participation of its members, their time, gifts, talents, resources, and yes, their time. Often, pleas for volunteers are made by trying to appeal to the needs of the church or even to guilt members into stepping up. But I’m reminded of what Mother Teresa of Calcutta said:

Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Jesus, in his bodily human form, ascended into heaven somewhere around 2,000 years ago. He is no longer here to lay hands on the sick, to cast out oppressive spirits, to proclaim the Good News to the poor of spirit, to minister to those who are imprisoned or hungry or naked or outcasts. Yet, the ministry of Jesus is meant to continue until his return. How? Through us, his people, his Church, his Body on Earth. Mother Teresa’s admonition that Christ has “no body now on earth but yours” is not only a plea for us to step up, it is a bold proclamation about the Church itself. If we are not being the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet, the mouth of Jesus in the world, then can we claim to be his Body at all? And, if not his Body, then are we really followers and disciples? And if not followers and disciples, are we really “Christian” in a biblical sense? It is only in being the Body of Christ to the world that we become the Body of Christ bound for heaven. The call to ride this glory train to our heavenly home is tied inextricably with the call to minister to our neighbors. We cannot have one without the other! So, I invite you to pray this prayer in earnest:

Gracious and Loving Father:

Please reveal to me where you would have me serve. Open my eyes to the opportunities around me, equip me for the work of the ministry, and give me the wisdom to discern your will, so that I might serve You faithfully in and through Your Church. I surrender my desires and plans to your guidance. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.