Donna-Marie Rowe, Contributor
CHRISTMAS TIME each year seems to hit with a 'new' wind. There is a newness and extravagance about all that we do. Shopping is taken to another level and the stores close much later to cash in on the spending spree.
It is seen as a time for gift- giving and receiving, putting up new drapes and painting the house, visiting friends and relatives far and near, sharing, caring and cleaning out the wardrobes and cupboards to make way for the new items that are under the Christmas trees.
We remember the less fortunate among us as well as make the annual visit to the old aunt or uncle or some other oft-forgotten relative.
So much is put into the 'self' that there is little wonder that by the time December 25 comes and is gone, we wonder what all the fuss was about.
Precious little mention is made of the supposed 'real meaning' of the season. True, there are passing and flippant references to the Christ of the Christmas. Music at this time tries to steer us away from the surreal to the spiritual, only that it is mere lip service as some of us sing-along and revel in the good feelings of the season, which sadly, is very short-lived. Oh that Christmas would last all year round.
To provide focus to those church-goers who are also caught up in the prevailing spirit of the season as well as those who pay their once yearly visit to the church of their choice, some ministers are busy preparing thought-provoking message for Christmas Day.
Kevin Llewelyn, Minister of the Emmanuel Gospel Assembly on Red Hills Road, says he began getting members and visitors alike to focus on the real meaning of Christmas from early in December.
"My focus for Christmas and indeed what it has been, as I am not waiting on Christmas, is getting members to look at the real meaning of Christmas," Mr. Llewelyn says. In addition to the extra efforts put into house-cleaning and acquiring new items for the home, the minister's view is that persons should prepare themselves for Christ. His emphasis is on introspection and asks, "Is your life what it should have been over the year that is closing?"
Mr. Llewelyn says that if a person is sad that they didn't have enough money to fix up her home as she would have liked, then something is wrong. That should not be our focus, the Minister says, rather we should be looking at what "I can do on behalf of the Saviour."
"Men need to be taken out of their darkness," Lieutenant Colonel Clinton Burrowes, Divisional Commander for the Salvation Army in Eastern Jamaica shares with The Sunday Gleaner as he gives a peek into his Christmas Day message.
The Salvation Army preacher says he is thinking about the light that has come, especially in the context of what is happening in our country today. He is encouraging persons to see the good in life because at this time most persons are seeing only the bad.
Lieutenant Colonel Burrowes, who is responsible for a half of the island including a number of social institutions, is of the view that Christmas could never be a pagan festival. "I agree that the things that are done are not done toward Christ," he admits, "such as drinking alcohol and so on. But the worship and praise and good deeds are good. It is a joyous occasion."
But while newly appointed Pastor Errol Holness of Vision Apostolic Ministries, Jobs Lane, Spanish Town, does not himself celebrate Christmas, his view is that it is an opportune time for one to look at the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ in the world.
"If this was my birthday, would I want it to be celebrated in this manner?" he asks. Christmas Day, he says however, is a good occasion to speak to some of the conditions of our country as these relate to the crassness, vulgarity and unkind ways that have been displayed in recent times. "It is indeed a time of renewal as births speak to new beginnings," Pastor Holness notes.
"There is an atmosphere at this time of wishing to start over and if I could build some thoughts around this, that would be my focus," he points out.
E-mail Donna-Marie Rowe at dmarowe@yahoo.com
