Getting Ready for Yuletide

Day 1 of Advent, Sunday, November 29, 2015

People are excited and energized as they prepare for the Yule celebration in Edward Rutherfurd’s historical novel, London.

Men drag in the huge log. Women prepare a feast including venison, great sides of beef, and spicy drinks, along with apples, pears, and mulberries preserved from the summer harvest.

Yuletide brings excitement in this Seventh Century scene from the historical novel which spans life in the British capital city from the Roman Empire to the late 20th Century.

Ironically, these Londoners of A. D. 604 are mostly pagans who are just learning about Christianity as they prepare for the ancient pagan Yuletide. The master of the house has embraced the religion which is new to England. Most of his household has not. But the festive mood among those ancient Londoners sounds much like our own preparation for Christmas.

As missionaries in Rutherfurd’s story come to London, some are appalled at the feasting and revelry of the Yule season. Christmas at that time is a somber occasion, not a time of feasting and merrymaking. Some want to stifle the festive atmosphere and bring these pagans in line. Others of the church leaders are intent on merging the two celebrations. A bishop declares that if the Anglo-Saxons like Yuletide, the Yule celebration must be incorporated into Christianity.

As we enter the Advent season and try to prepare ourselves for Christmas, we need to ask ourselves: how do we manage the inter-twined secular and religious traditions? How much of our activity promotes secular--even pagan--interests? How much cultivates the hope embodied in the promise of the Messiah? 

Down deep, are we basically pagans who, like Rutherford’s ancient fictional Londoner, need to learn about Christianity? If so, Advent can provide that opportunity for open minds and sensitive spirits to cultivate Christian hope.

Verse for Today

”To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God” (John 1:12).