It is no wonder that children are the one’s that most appreciate the arrival of Christmas. After all, they are the one’s that benefit the most from its celebration. This is not a bad thing in itself until, that is, parents realize that they can’t always fulfill their own and their children’s expectations of the Christmas prize—presents, presents, and more presents—that very special gift that each and every Child is hoping for, each in their own special little heart of hearts.
In my years as a pastor, I have heard more than once a father or mother decry the Christmas season with a bemoaning “I am not able to …” or “I was not able to …” or “I will not be able to … give my kids the Christmas that I would have liked” or “that they deserve” or “that they were looking forward to”; Or, “This year’s Christmas is not going to be as good as some previous Christmases. Hopefully next year will be better.”
Such statements invite commiserating sentiments of sympathy, sadness, pity and compassion. But remember the saying, “It’s not the gift, it’s the thought that counts”? At this point I have to ask, what are we thinking? When one considers the very first Christmas and its real significance, assuming that the accounts reported in the Christmas story are real historical events, how could anyone—all right, any Believer—say that this year is going to be a “bad” Christmas, or that this Christmas is not going to be as "good" as last Christmas? Is the joy, fun, and celebration, of Christmas really to be measured by the size, cost, quality, and quantity of gifts exchanged? Are we teaching our children that the only true account of Christmas is the checking, savings, or credit card account?
Obviously if one does not believe in the details proclaimed as historical truth surrounding the very first Christmas—Jesus, Son of God, born of a Virgin: “The angel said to [Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God’” (Luke 1:35; NRSV)”—then one may make of Christmas what one wills, for good or bad. But if one believes this account to be true and truly of God, there can be no bad Christmas, can there? Not really. That very same child of Christmas, we have learned, has grown to be realized as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is indeed our everlasting hope for a future and eternal prosperity in heaven with God. By means of this child, the now resurrected Lord, we are secured grace, peace, salvation, renewal, and much, much more. Jesus went around Judea proclaiming that, because of His arrival and presence, the Kingdom of God is at hand! And it still is!
So let us celebrate Christmas for what it really IS. The very first Christmas was the concrete and actual beginning of God’s promises to humanity coming to completion—that there will someday be a better world where there will no longer be suffering, pain, torture, agony, heartache, the loss of a loved one, young or old, aging, and death and dying. Whether we are presently rich or poor, in good health or bad health, the actual meaning of Christmas and its implication for the future of humanity has not changed.
It is a light beam of hope for all, most especially the ill, suffering, injured, sick, hungry, poor, and dieing. It is my hope as well as yours, OUR hope, the hope of humanity all around the world. It is God’s answer to the outcry, “Will we ever have peace in this world?” Yes! And that peace is in this child that was born now more than 2000 years ago.
As Luke reports: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising god and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and onearth peace among those whom he favors!’” (Luke 2:13-14; NRSV.)
Merry Christmas!!
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