It’s Christmas time again! Does that excite you or is it more of a low-key at least I get time off work feeling? We will revive the traditions, eat the food, and watch the movies. It can be and should be enjoyable.
There are always exceptions but maybe more than any other day, Christmas seems like it is for everyone.
Looking back on Christmas’ past there are a few key memories:
I remember as an 8-year-old my favorite Christmas present walking out of my parent’s bedroom wagging his tail…we finally had a dog!
I remember at 13 buying Alicia (my girlfriend) a Christmas gift and being frantic over whether she would like it or not.
I can still see Donna and I sitting in our tiny apartment with our little Christmas tree…our first Christmas as a married couple, thinking it will never be better than this.
I remember my first Christmas without my grandma as a 20-year-old and two years ago my first Christmas without my mom. Hard moments.
You have some powerful memories as well. Those memories plus…it is the mixture of the people food, songs, memories, and traditions that make Christmas feel so distinctive.
Even with all this however, Christmas isn’t always meaningful.
You have experienced some great Christmas’ where all seemed right with the world but also some not-so-great moments. The gifts, the gathering, the slower pace of the season are so good, but soon the calendar moves on and it is over and nothing has really changed.
I wonder if that is why for many as they get older, Christmas becomes less and less engaging. Sure, if there are kids or grandkids it keeps some magic but outside of that, it can start to feel like a lot of noise.
If you put some “hope” in Christmas but continued to find it coming up empty as far as making life meaningful it is hard to muster the same enthusiasm year after year.
Have you ever thought about the lyrics to many of the traditional Christmas songs? They are not as festive as you might guess.
They talk about failure; illustrating who we want to be, faithful, joyful, and triumphant but admit we aren’t.
O Holy Night is a big song but it talks about how we are weary, our souls don’t feel worthy. Other songs refer to captives needing to be ransomed, people feeling lost, cut off, and lonely.
O Come O Come Emmanuel begs for a way for life to be meaningful again.
Did you know there was a darkness like that in Christmas songs?
Do you know why?
Because it is real and true.
You are probably like me, hearing or singing the songs and not giving it much thought. Yet, these songs are eerily descriptive of the world we live in.
Failed aspirations, weary souls, feeling unworthy, captive, divided, lonely and searching for meaning. Have you felt that? Do you know people who do?
At Christmas you hear the expression “good news of great joy for all people.” We could use that now. So much of what we are experiencing in life doesn’t feel joyful and good news usually comes with a catch.
Singing songs and getting together hasn’t been enough to create lasting joy. Christmas past has been fine but how does this Christmas, Christmas Present change things?
The calendar is moving and Christmas is coming. Maybe this is the year for Celebrating an old holiday in a new way.
The beauty of the Christmas story (and the songs) is that doubt can be transformed into faith. Defeat can be transformed in to triumph. Depression can be transformed into joy. Frantic insecurity can be replaced with peace, and loneliness gives way to God’s presence.
I love the accessories of Christmas, the food, sounds, fun and memories. But it is the history splitting appearance of Jesus that takes Christmas from being mere memories and moments into meaningful and life changing.
It is likely almost everyone you know will celebrate Christmas but will it be meaningful for everyone you know?
Christmas past is just that past. Hopefully it was filled with great memories but even if it wasn’t Christmas present can be meaningful.
It needs to be filled with meaning for you and for everyone you know.
Join us for our new series Christmas Past and Present begining Sunday, December 1st, and be sure to invite anyone you know who could use some meaning to go with their Christmas memories.
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Positive, hope, security and faith--bring on the brightness of Christmas and the meaning behind it all. Our Savior's Birth and a time of joyful rejoicing. Enough about the "times", we have all lived a life of storms, the need is to be uplifted and happy about the lives we live now and the goodness in all we see and do. God Bless You as you lift us up Pastor Brett, and give us the hope that all is good.