It's a glutton of a holiday, something that starts in late October, and goes until January. That's a quarter of a year devoted to and dedicated to one day, the twenty-fifth day of December. Now, here's the thing about the arrival of Christmas, which is that there is a whole bunch of time and effort spent on it, and a lot of money, and the date never moves. So why oh why is it, if the date never moves, if it's always the same, why is it that we almost always are under prepared?
It shouldn't be this way. We all have the notion that we should prepare early, that we should get ourselves right, and figure out our lives so that we are well prepared by the time Christmas gets here. But we end up in a panic, with gifts under-bought, wrapping paper nowhere to be seen, and tape that runs out halfway through Christmas eve. This is why the nice people at Chrisco will try to sell you a $65 ham, because it's ostensibly worth it to have the ham for sure, delivered to your house, because, well, you'll probably be too far behind around Christmas to remember to grab it.
Thus the problem. Christmas is a beautiful time, to be sure, but for those of us who are now struggling to prepare, we get sidetracked, behind, and can't seem to catch up. Even with a pre-determined date. And we are people who, when we read through the Holy Scriptures, Jesus tells us that we ought always to be ready for his return. How are we supposed to do that! Jesus tells us that he could return at any time, he could come back tomorrow. The disciples certainly thought that he'd come back during their lifetime, and every generation since has been of the mind that they are living in the final generation, and Jesus will return any moment now. We all believe that we are in the last few days, and that soon, everything will be coming to an end. Sure enough. But if we can't cope with the arrival of a day that arrives at the same time each year, how are we supposed to cope with the coming of the king of kings that could be at any moment?
People, if they are being honest when they are asked, will have a couple of answers for that, but the biggest one by far is this one 'I still have so much to do.' Ah yes, yes you do. And that's why we are never prepared, never ready for the big day, because there will always be more to do. It doesn't matter how much you've bought, how much you've baked, how many presents you've wrapped, your Christmas will always be a far cry from the one that you see on the cover of the magazine. You know which one. The one with Michael Buble offering you a hot toddy. And a hot boddy. Your Christmas will never be put together like that, it will never look quite the way you want it to. Your tree won't be themed, there will be stuff everywhere, the gifts won't be exactly what you wanted, it'll all be shoddy and thrown together, as it always is, because you won't have done enough.
Think back, if you will to the last time that you had anything resembling a perfect Christmas. It was probably when you were little. When the world was still full of magic. Think back to your favourite Christmas memories, and they'll likely be a time of childlike wonder, when your list of things you had to do was incredibly small. Wake up. Open gifts. That was it.
In essence, we have forgotten how to receive. We have forgotten how to have a time in which we are doing nothing towards the celebration. Do yourself a favor and watch the commercials at this time of year (you can't miss them, honestly). In watching the commercials that are playing, you can see what's happening, which is that the season of peace and joy depends significantly on what you are bringing to the table. Peace, love, all that stuff seems to depend on what you're doing to make it come about. And what you're doing is to spend money. Jesus makes you a promise, and his promise is that he gives peace not as the world gives, and that's good for us to know and to remember. This season of forced merriment, this season of mandatory fun, it depends significantly on what you're bringing in and what you're doing. Give the best gifts this year. Win at Christmas! Give the gifts that'll wow! All that gubbins. And here we are, in a situation in which your merrmient depends on its destruction. You are told how to make Christmas perfect by emptying it of any joy you may remember. Does it sound counter productive? You bet it does. Yet we are deceived into it at every moment that there is.
Go into the stores, and see the joy that the world gives. It's a real lack of joy. it's a real displeasure. People are frustrated, they are angry, they are tired, and they are frustrated, and this is what happens when we do our best to manufacture the joy on our own. The peace the world gives is a dreadful frustrating thing, and you will know it whenever you try to make it on your own.
The peace that Christ gives, though, that's a different horse altogether. I don't ask you to think of your childhood Christmases idly, you know. The best Christmases you can remember, those are likely times where everything didn't go perfectly, where your parents were run off their feet, where nothing was done right, but you didn't notice or care. You showed up, the tree was decorated, there was childlike wonder and excitement, because all you had to do was receieve. That was all. Jesus cautions us about entrance into his kingdom, and tells us
"Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it"
There's a lot of truth in that statement, obviously, since Jesus is never wrong, and it affects not just Christmas, but Christianity. It affects how we think about our role to play in the faith, and what we do . What does Jesus ask you to do? How big is your list for arrival? If you're being honest, you're never going to be done, not done properly. You're never going to be finished with his involvement. You're never going to be finished the list of what Jesus wants you to do, and how perfect he wants you to be. He tells you to be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. Do you realize how big of a deal that is?
And yet, and yet, where does the perfection come from? It comes from him. Christmas is not about giving, but receiving, the gift of the baby in the manger at bethlehem. That's the way it ought to be, and you've only forgotten it. But take some time this year to look upon the children in your life, and see how they feel at this time of year. Are they excited? Are they overjoyed? Is it that they can't wait for Christmas to come? Do you remember being that excited, so excited that you can't sleep? Let this be part of your Advent this year, counting down the days for the arrival of Jesus, the coming of the Christ child into the world, and his gifts of life and salvation offered to you. Remember tha this time of the year is about receiving, that in the darkness of the world, in the short days and cold nights, in the secret whispers and silence is the promise of the light of the world who says this to you.
Behold. I make all things new.
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