Advent Devotional by Lisa Shoemaker

John 7:40-52 (NIV) 

They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (John 7:52)

Christmas Day is almost here, and I would guess you are in the midst of anticipating your traditions to celebrate the day, or you are gearing up for a change in what you’ve always done in order to accommodate the different circumstances that inevitably happen: logistics, folks’ holiday and work schedules, weather, illness, canceled flights, and a myriad of other game-changers.

Anticipating the future always involves a certain flexibility. Some of us adjust our visions of what is to come with more ease than others, but all of us need to learn the lesson that what we think will be happening at Christmas, or any future event, may not be reality.

Jim and I have two grown daughters with families of their own, and I have a 92-year-old father with limited traveling abilities who lives in Fayette. Our Christmas plans are new every year.

Whitney’s kids no longer insist on waking up on Christmas morning in their own Indiana house. Will they come to Missouri earlier than usual? Regan’s kids still want the surprise of Santa’s bounty under their tree on Christmas morning. In-laws also want to see the kids during the holiday, but where and when?

So where does that leave Jim, me, and my dad?

We just roll with the changes. We know that we may be attending a Christmas Eve service at church, eating brunch at Regan’s on Christmas day or a supper at our house on Christmas night, attending a performance of A Christmas Carol or The Nutcracker, or “hanging tight” in case an alternative gathering place and time is necessary. It’s okay. In fact, we enjoy doing something different every year. We aren’t disappointed about how our Christmas celebrations turn out if we don’t have a preconceived idea of what should happen.

The Pharisees that John illustrates just couldn’t imagine a different concept of the future Messiah than the one they were used to. This savior couldn’t possibly come from Galilee, a place where nothing significant in Jewish life ever took place. Their vision of the future was limited; their expectations were limited; however, that also meant their abilities to experience a new concept of what the Messiah would be were also limited.

Here’s to the unexpected future and our efforts to keep ourselves open to embrace the changes.

Merry Christmas to you all,

Lisa Shoemaker