"Ahh, Christmas. It's all about the shopping.
Economists make forecasts about the holiday shopping indicators. Analysts predict dire consequences for the entire global economy if we don't buy ourselves into a frenzy. Obediently we cram the malls, strategize about our Black Friday and Cyber Monday options, and push the outer limits of our credit to acquire the latest trendy gadgets. Because Christmas is all about the shopping.
Except that it isn't.
Christmas is about the getting. We encourage our kids to make their lists, advise them that they won't get everything itemized thereon, then proceed to get it all and more. We daydream of what we'll get from friends and relatives, and where we'll put it all once we have it. Maybe a yard sale is in order when the weather warms up, to palm off that stuff we got last year. Self-storage units, silent witnesses to American materialism, probably spike in sales after December. What other culture needs to construct so many personal warehouses to store possessions we can no longer fit into the biggest houses in the world? But we still want more, because Christmas is all about getting stuff.
Except that it isn't.
Christmas, of course, is about the giving. We're an extraordinarily charitable people, especially at this time of the year. We try to do our part for food banks and toy drives, and feel guilty that we can't do more. And all the shopping -- it isn't for ourselves; it's to find just the right present for the kids or Aunt Mabel or the boss. We keep the UPS trucks crawling the highways, we slay a million trees for wrapping paper, and if all else fails, we just pick up a gift card for Thelma and Ed. Because Christmas -- it's all about the giving.
Except that it isn't.
Christmas is about pop culture. Oh, sure, we know that once upon a time it wasn't the case, but nowadays what is Christmas without Rudolph and Frosty, the Grinch and Ralphie's Red Rider BB gun? We turn up the radio when we hear "Grandma Got Run Over" (at least the first thousand times). We immerse ourselves in "It's a Wonderful Life" and the "Sound of Music" (though only one line in only one song even mentions Christmas). So-and-so's holiday special is on TV tonight, so let's hurry back from the mall where we have to buy some performer's new Christmas CD to try to remind us what all this bustle is for. Oh yeah, that's right -- Christmas is all about pop culture.
Except that it isn't.
Christmas is about family, whether we like them or not the rest of the year. Christmas is about decorating -- why else would so many domestic quarrels erupt over whether or not the tree is straight? Christmas is about helping others and being nice one to another. It's about reliving happy childhood memories. It's about building future happy memories. It's about sappy sentimentality. Christmas is about inclusiveness and inoffensiveness, so much so that we scarcely dare even mention the name of the holiday in public anymore.
Except Christmas isn't about any of these things. They (mostly) have their place in appropriate doses, but they are ancillary; constituent features of a greater whole. When these things, even good things like charity and family, become the reasons for the season, we miss out on the actual point. So what's the point?
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14).
Christmas is about a baby. A shivering infant born to a peasant couple in a stable, a child who would grow up to change the world. It's about a God who loves us and calls us back to him despite our myriad flaws. It's about one who showed us what love truly is, so we can show it to others.
Get your shopping done. Gather the family around the table. Let the kids gleefully rip into the paper-clad boxes. Trim the tree, fill the stockings, hum the tunes and deck the halls. But don't let the good tidings of great joy get lost in the shuffle, or there's scarcely a point to the shuffle at all. For unto us a child was once born, whose name is called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
That's what it's all about. May yours be merry, and meaningful."
(Reprinted from the Roanoke Times.)
Imagine the glory. The peace and the wonder of the Most High, born to the lowest, her to give good things to all. Please, if you do nothing else, do not forget this message. Have a blessed, blessed Christmas!
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“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” ~ Calvin Coolidge
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Comments, questions, and discussions are appreciated and encouraged. Peace!
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