I anticipate the gathering of families and friends. I anticipate the singing of familiar carols and Christmas songs. I anticipate the warm and meaningful moments of worship. Sometimes when people before Christmas say they really haven't got the Christmas spirit this year, what they mean is that they have lost the anticipation. The first reading this evening from Isaiah the prophet was one of anticipation as the people waited for God to fulfill God's promise of salvation.
Some people say that the greatest difference between people is in what they anticipate.
Another Christmas that I remember was one in my first parish in northern Saskatchewan. They lived on very marginal farm lands and eked out a living there. We used to get large bales of necessities and gifts from Eastern parishes and we would divide them up and deliver them personally to the families in the area. The first year that I did that we began in the morning and delivered these parcels all day over many roads that were not fit to drive on. I can remember getting stuck in the snow at one point and being pulled out by a team of horses.