Christmas is a feast for the senses. For example:

Pine
Pecan pie
Bells
Wrapping paper
Snow
A baby’s cry
Carolers
Cookies in the oven
A candle

I could go on!

There are few seasons of the year that evoke such an immersion into our senses.

That’s a very good thing, although it’s possible to overload or saturate.

If the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmas leave you feeling maxed out, try this:

Find a calm space and read Luke 2:8-15:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”  When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Talk about an overload of sight and sound! (And I can’t point to any scripture that says this, but I think Angels must smell like potpourri)

It must have been beautiful, but overwhelming.  A feast for the senses.

Did you notice?  All the fanfare of the angelic chorus was not the big event.  It was the overture pointing towards “this thing that has happened.”

The thing that had happened, while beautiful to behold, was nothing like the overwhelming bombardment that lead up to it.

At the center of Christmas is the simplicity and stillness of a sleeping child.

So…

As this holiday journey reaches this week so wild…

let every heart prepare room for something

a little more

meek and mild.

Merry Christmas

Mitch