Response to "Redeeming Christmas"

I’ve been thinking a lot on Christmas, not the season of good cheer and even greater consumerism, but the season when followers of Jesus take time to reflect on the birth of their Savior. The older I grow, the less “magic” I feel during this season. I still love the holiday music and decorations (and yes, gifts), but my soul isn’t stirred. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman saying that soon God’s people would worship in spirit and in truth. That is supposed to be us! I believe that my coolness towards Jesus on Christmas isn’t due to the weather but the simple fact that worship is meant to be singular. Jesus’ name cannot be followed by an “and” as the object of my worship.

My birthday is this Saturday, and I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be weird if on my birthday all my friends and family started making lists of the things they wanted and bought gifts for each other from those lists and then sang a couple songs about me?” I suppose that would be fun, but I might feel just a little forgotten.

It seems Satan’s ongoing strategy is to redirect our attention to ourselves turning what is good into something destructive. God gives us marriage and sex to show us a glimpse of the community found within the trinity, and Satan convinces us that marriage is meant to serve us and about what we can get out of the relationship. Satan takes the most selfless act in all eternity, God sending his son to restore his people to himself, and turns the celebration of this into a celebration of ourselves.

Pastor Matt Stevens wrote a great article “Redeeming Christmas” and asks, “What’s the solution for followers of Christ? Do we burn the tree, tear down the decorations, and dump out the green bean almondine?” Honestly, when I feel conviction on my heart about my failure to worship Jesus and my personal idolatry, my reaction is to scream, “We’re not doing Santa with our kids! Let’s cancel the gifts! Let’s give away all our kids’ toys to charity! Let’s uninvite our friends to dinner and pick up some shady characters off the street to eat turkey with us!” Maybe some of these could be good things, but my reaction is to do something to make me feel better, once again taking the focus off my Savior and placing it onto myself.

What was the first Christmas celebration like? The angels filled the sky and sang a message of hope, salvation, and joy!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

I’m guessing those poor shepherds ran to meet Jesus faster than they’d moved since they were little boys. They left his side singing of the glory of God. They left changed men!

Pastor Matt writes,

Who will redeem this holiday, if not the church? Instead of judging those who do not know the truth, sing the truth of God with greater fervor and more confidence than anyone’s ever heard... The world has been changed, we have been freed from the slavery of sin and selfishness, and we have the message of true hope.

I know the holidays can be the most stressful time for people. There are too many traditions to cover, too many miles to travel, too many gifts to buy, too many holiday cards to mail last minute because someone not on your list sent one to you, family steps on each other’s toes, “Christmas Shoes” was played for the 37th time on the radio, and the kids are whiney. Isn’t this what Jesus came to free us from? – tradition, merely civil relationships, selfishness, one-upsmanship, kitschy valueless music?

Uninhibited joy is what I see the birth of Jesus beckons. I see people that crave to spend time in his presence, traveling for two years in the case of the wisemen to do so. If I find myself cool in the Christmas season, perhaps it isn’t because of his lack of warmth. I just need to move in closer.