God’s invitation and welcome do not cost us our seat at the table but beg us to make room for others as well. This is the heart of Christmas; when there was no room, God still made a way.

Over the years, I learned more fully that people need to connect with worship emotionally. That means leaders must include words, rituals, and practices people recognize – on Christmas Eve and all year long.

That was the key message of John the Baptist and of Jesus of Nazareth: to encourage people to think differently about their relationship with and their love for God. To think differently about what you put first and seek first.

I have come to see the rituals I have in my life as doors. They can be opened and invite me to pass through and, in turn, be closed and left to mark the passing of the former as I move into the future.

By avoiding or denying our need to repent, we continue ways leading to sadness and despair, no matter how we might tell ourselves otherwise. To repent is to turn things around, to let your life find balance, to welcome grace into your life.