Can We Celebrate Christmas Now?

John 3:16

The following meditation is suggested for a family that has lost a loved one near the end of Advent or during Christmastide. The name, "Adam," is employed for the deceased.

It is hard to accept the death of a loved one at anytime. It is especially difficult at Christmas. This is a family time. What is being celebrated now started with Joseph, Mary and Jesus, and has been continued by countless mothers and fathers and their children. No other holiday is so centered in the home as this one. All the festivities - sending cards, decorating the tree, exchanging gifts, singing carols, going to church, and gathering around the table - take on luster, because we join in them at home, with loved ones. How sad it is to be separated from family now. Who here is …