December means Christmas movies. The Hallmark Channel probably makes their whole year's profit on this one month when it shows a constant stream of holiday-themed films.

Yes, the plots are predictable. Hometown girl returns because of family emergency or disappointment elsewhere. She discovers a guy whom she had loved previously but with whom there had been a devastating ending. Awkward entanglements ensue in which the two find themselves drawn into some noble work, such as saving the family business or upholding a threatened tradition. They resist one another. One begins to have his or her heart warmed by some unintended moment of intimacy. The process of mutual heartwarming begins. Eventually, they both realize their attraction, affection, and desire for one another. They live happily ever after.

The casts may vary. The settings shift. The details alter. But in the end, these are stories about people finding true love and drawing close together. We have a word for it — heartwarming. You know, "the heartwarming story of Sue and Bill…" There's a lot of heartwarming that takes place in December.

Maybe we need heartwarming. Maybe we have grown too cold of heart like those icy characters in the movies who have to discover vulnerability and openness and intimacy for the story to work out.

Ezekiel recounts the story of how God's children had done something similar. They had degraded God's name before the nations. They had turned their hearts towards idols. They had forgotten their true love. God had, in turn, cast them away among the nations so that they would learn to appreciate "home". God had removed their special places and services so that they would value again their threatened traditions. God had done all of this, not out of malice or spite, but so that they might come to see and appreciate and value all that they had had.

God said, "I will remove your stony heart and give you a living and loving heart." Yes, it is something like a Hallmark movie. God calls us "home" and promises a heartwarming welcome. We return "home" and find the love that was missing elsewhere. Our icy hearts melt in the warmth and glow of God's love.

Let's ask God to enter our hearts and transform them with greater love and grace as we approach the celebration of the nativity of Christ.

Prayer: Gracious God, Your love is more wonderful than we deserve. We know that we have sought love and meaning and value elsewhere; our attempts have been awkward and self-conscious; our spirits have been guarded and cold. By Your power and presence, transform us. Give us living and loving hearts that are open to all Your children. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Every town needs its hero, and I should also say, heroine. Little places like to have someone they can point to and highlight achievements that seem larger than life. There is a certain sense of pride that goes with it.

I am from Sevier County, whose claim to fame rests with Dolly Parton. Dolly grew up in Caton's Chapel, a little community that was a way from either Pigeon Forge or Sevierville. She did not have much money growing up, and that was part of what made her who she has become. She was always humble, not forgetting her roots. But she was also shooting for the stars and not afraid to put herself out front. She started with local shows and then grew into doing Hollywood movies. She wrote, produced, and sang countless country classics. She is widely recognized for her humanitarian efforts. She is a big star from a small town. It would have been easy to have overlooked her, but her light was too bright to keep hidden.

Likewise, Bethlehem was and is a small place. Its one big claim to fame was having been the hometown of David. David, the brightest and best king of Israel, came from this little place that would have been so easy to overlook. We hear later that when the Magi came from the east seeking a newborn ruler of the Jews, others had to hunt to find today's verse as a reminder of where the ruler was to be born. The very idea that a king should come from such a small setting was practically unthinkable.

When we discover that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it is easy to see how this little place was the site of some big beginnings. Small in size, it had a much larger part to play.

Perhaps this is a good text to remind us how we so often overlook small things. We overlook small places as if they are not important. We overlook small gifts that may have come from a big heart. We overlook people from small towns as if they are less than those who come from larger cities. It is, no doubt, one of the reasons that so many overlooked Jesus in His time on earth.

In this Advent season, let us be watching for the little things in which God may appear.

Prayer: God of all times and places, we come before You now, mindful that Your presence is everywhere. You can be found in both large and small, in both grand and humble estates. Give us a spirit of humility so that we may see the blessing and value of the small things that make up our lives. Help us to honour all, no matter their origins, remembering that Christ Himself was from little Bethlehem. It is in His name that we pray. Amen.

Halloween bags still held treats. The calendar had barely turned from the fall feasts. But the staff were there, clearing the shelves. Anything that looked orange, yellow, or black was marked down to move out the door. Fall had been supplanted, not by winter, but by "Christmas". I say "Christmas" in guarded fashion. What I saw had nothing to do with Christ. There was no hint of a holy night. There was no simplicity. There was no Silent Night to be heard. The empty shelves were waiting to be stocked with more stuff that could be bought and sold. Fall was gone. It had turned to make-or-break time in the commercial world. "Christmas" was what mattered now, and those shelves were not going to be stocking themselves. It was a flurry, not of snow, but of activity, that I saw.

I have always been uneasy about how to handle "Christmas" in a culture that has previously nodded towards Jesus Christ, but has now adapted a largely commercial tone to the season. Churches may fuss about stores rushing the season, but we may have even contributed to it by having a four-week season of preparation for it, called "Advent". Complaints about how commercial "Christmas" has gotten are as prevalent as the shmaltzy carols that blare over the store speakers. There seems to be no end to the commercial clamour that surrounds the "Christmas" season.

So, it is appropriate during this Advent season to consider today's scene of Jesus in the temple. There was a close connection between trade and sacrifice in that day. Sacrifices had to be purchased; someone had to offer animals for sale; someone had to exchange money to the proper coinage. Someone had to do it! Commerce seemed necessary.

Yet nowhere in all of Scripture do we see Jesus in such a rage! He is not just upset — he is livid! He cannot restrain His need to overturn this situation and what it implies. The trade has overtaken the reason that it was created; the exchanges have blurred the relationship with God that was to be the heart of the matter. It was as if salvation had been surrendered to the lowest bidder. Jesus, the One who knew best the true price of salvation, could not stand by and watch! Someone had to call them on it!

As we move through Advent, the season of waiting, anticipating, restraint, and expectation, may we consider well the cost that God paid on our behalf, and not cheapen it with trinkets and tinsel.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to see the priceless gift that You have given us. May all that we give remind others of Your generous grace and love. Amen.

I grew up looking at mountains. Raised on a mountain just outside the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there was not a day that my eyes could escape looking at mountains. People come from all over the world to behold these ridges, peaks, and valleys. People drive countless hours to get here and spend countless dollars to stay here. They may not move mountains, but the mountains move them.

Which brings me to today's verse from Psalm 121. There are lots of people who hear these words and immediately picture the most scenic mountain vistas imaginable, maybe the Swiss Alps with snow-covered peaks rising above steep, verdant valleys, or maybe the sharp crags of the Teton Range standing guard in western Wyoming, or the soaring Sierra Nevadas of Yosemite with incredible waterfalls and rock domes, or maybe even these mystical and ancient ridges of Appalachia. Whatever the image, it's hard to hear the words and not have a picture arise in our minds.

Yes, there is some help in getting away to the mountains. There is something refreshing about new vistas and perspectives. There is something that reminds us of our place in creation and in the natural community when we escape to such terrain. Mountains are good for us.

But we need to know that the psalmist has something completely different in mind. In the ancient world, the "high places" were reserved for worship, and the predominant form of worship was to nature gods of fertility. In the Bible, we read about the Asherah poles and the shrines set up to Baal in Israel. In essence, these high places were covered with idols that drew worship away from God, the Creator. The psalmist is saying that there is no help in such things. The "mountains" as here described are monuments to humanity's broken view of the world and of life.

The following verse is actually a rebuttal to the prevalent view of the day: "My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:2 CEB) He is the only source of help — not that there are mountains, but that there is a mountain-Creator. There is a God who brings forth wonders and marvels and beauty beyond our comprehension. There is a God who watches over all that is taking place here. Every peak, every bird, every tree, every drop of rain — all of it is in the hands of the Creator. The mountains serve to push our perspective beyond the physical reality to the Mystery who made them — and us.

May every view of creation remind us this day of the Maker of heaven and earth who is watching over it all, and over each of us as well.

Prayer: Creator God, may every sight of beauty and nature fill us with wonder and gratitude for Your creating and protecting power. Amen.