The Coming of Christmas

The Coming of Christmas

By Don Towle

 

As the pastor stepped down from the pulpit

After his message, his congregation asked him,

“When is Christmas and what will be the sign of its coming”

 

The pastor got a far-away look in his eyes and answered,

 

Watch out! Many will come in my name saying,

“Ho! Ho! Ho! This is what Christmas is all about.”

 

You will hear of sales and rumors of sales,

But, do not be alarmed, such things must happen.

 

Department stores will rise up against Walmart stores.

There will be so much candy and sweets

Weight watchers will quake in their boots.

 

All these are just the beginning

Of stomach pains and acid indigestion.

 

At that time many will turn away from the peace

Of the Nativity and the Wise Men of the past

Who laid their gifts before the newborn Child.

 

Instead, they will join the frenzy of the multitude

Rushing here and there buying gifts

To lie before their newly cut trees.

 

Many false and misleading advertisements will appear

And deceive many people.

 

The rich and the poor alike have accepted

That without the mark on the card in their right hand

They will not be able to buy enough.

 

Because of the fear of not being ready by the Eve,

They will not be able to rest day or night,

And the love of many will grow cold.

 

But when the carols of true Christmas

Are sung throughout the whole world,

Only then Christmas will come.

 

So when you see the red-suited Clause,

The Snowman, and the Grinch, spoken of by the TV,

Put in the place of the Manger Child,

Let the listener beware.

 

Let no one who is on the roof putting up decorations,

Go back down into his garage.

 

For then there will be great distrust,

Unequaled from the beginning of the year

And never to be equaled again until next Christmas.

 

If those shopping days had not been cut short

By the discipline of those who wait until after Thanksgiving,

No one would survive.

 

At that time if anyone says to you,

“Look, here is the real meaning of Christmas!”

Do not believe it, for many false Christmas stories

Will appear on TV performing great Christmas miracles

Even deceiving the faithful, if that were possible.

 

See, I have told you ahead of time,

So if anyone tells you that

“Christmas is at this mall out in the suburbs”

Do not go out there, or

“Here Christmas is in the inner city square.”

Do not believe it!

 

For just as lightning that comes from the east

Is visible even in the west,

So will the coming of real Christmas be.

 

It will come in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,

At the realization that the very shepherds

Who heard the trumpeting of the angelic heavenly hosts,

And left their sheep to go see the Christ Child,

Lying in a manger, were seeing the same Christ,

The Lamb of God, who suffered and died on the cross,

Shedding His blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

 

It will be in that instance,

What was dead will come to life.

Your mortal soul will put on immortality,

Death will be swallowed up in victory,

And true Christmas will come.

 

Merry Christmas!

 Don Towle is the newest member of the Inspire Christian Writers group. He is a thoughtful writer whose insights and skills bring a lot to our group. This is his first contribution to my blog (Thanks, Don!) hopefully the first of many. If you enjoyed his writing, please leave a comment and I will make sure he gets it. Meanwhile, let's anticipate with joy, the coming of Christmas.

Gratefully,

Beth

Comments

[Joanne]

Ok Beth, how did you get it on that fast? Who are you really?!?

Did you scan it in?

Give me a call if you get this today. I know, I have asked you for your phone number a zillion times...Have you realized that I lack organizational DNA matter? I wanted to share some cool news with you. Nothing ecstatic but very cool...

Oh, and I think Don is an amazing writer. I must admit that I was disappointed that he didn't also bring in another chapter to his ponderings book he is doing!

[Elizabeth M. Thompson]

Of course I typed it. My scanner is new and I haven't a clue how to use it. It would have taken me much longer to read the manual.

I'm going to have a plaque made for you with my phone number so you can post it somewhere near your phone!

I love Don's book on Ponderings. It has been following me around since he read the opening chapter to us. It is going to be fantastic!