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Advent 2010 Dear Friends: “It's easier to let go when there's nothing to hold on to!” While one might imagine this quote to be one of the infamous mantras of a World renowned philosopher, it is in fact the brain child of those who have given themselves to the fine art of advertisement. I happened upon it the other day as I was reading a news item on the internet and learned it to be a slogan used to sell the Xbox 360 Kinect — you know the one where you are the controller! I'll have to let my children fill me in on the exciting dimensions of such a game system another time. For now, I am struck by the notion this slogan stirs up within me. The idea of letting go of something that may in fact be preventing me from holding onto something of greater value. In the case of the Xbox 360, I suspect I would discover that letting go would ultimately enable me to enjoy more thoroughly my “gaming” experience! As I turn my thoughts towards Christmas, I am aware of how many share in the frenetic pace that often accompanies our lives as we prepare for this great and glorious day. As the advertisement suggests we are the controllers, desperate to create a season replete with peace on earth and goodwill! A season with all the promise of security and blessing in the New Year. How often, however, do we find our creation to be less than we hoped for? As I contemplate the first twelve versus of Matthew chapter two, I am made aware of a contrast between those who strive to “create” a life of seeming peace and security and those who apparently understand these things to be discovered and embraced along life's journey. King Herod and those in Jerusalem at the time, most especially the chief priests and teachers of the law, were in fact “disturbed”, it would seem, at the thought of a new ruler infiltrating their ranks (Matt. 2:3)! It would appear that somewhere along the way they had embraced an unhealthy desire for power and control that rendered them virtually unable to consider the promise of life that lay before them. They instead held on for dear life to those things that in the end would prove empty and destructive! The Magi, on the other hand, appeared to have a fairly loose grip on those things the world deems important. While they indeed would have been considered the academics of their day with an extraordinary understanding of the cosmos, they also possessed within them a capacity to learn and grow in their understanding of life's deeper meaning. Life for the Magi was not to be “controlled” as much as it was to be experienced, embraced and in the case of these foreigners who followed their heart and a star, life as they found it in the Babe of Bethlehem was also to be worshipped! As our Advent journey takes us ever closer to the Babe of Bethlehem, may we consider those things that we hold so firmly in our grasp. Those things that render us virtually unable to consider the life that lay before us so gently in a manger. May our journey this year take us into a deeper understanding of who God is and desires to be in our lives. And may we find ourselves engaged in worship along with all the wise who have found in Christ the one who brings peace, joy and hope to a broken humanity. Merry Christmas
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