Christmastime

Christmas is coming. For some this reminder might provoke a feeling of dread. The stress of shopping and the prospect of facing difficult family members is not appealing. For others, maybe a warm fuzzy feeling- the reminder of a cozy fire, hot chocolate and the anticipation of presents. For me? A mixture of a lot of things. Due to a variety of reasons, Christmas is not the same as it used to be. Growing up Christmas was my second favorite holiday, after Independence Day. Now, don’t confuse my preference of holidays as evidence that I loved the USA more than Jesus. Really, I just liked blowing things up.

As I approach my 23rd Christmas on this planet, I’ve been reflecting on what Christmas is really all about. Yes, I know that’s incredibly profound. “Reflections on the meaning of Christmas” has never been done before (that’s sarcasm in case you’re wondering).

Mostly what I’ve heard at church about Christmas is that it’s the time to celebrate Christ’s birth. Earlier this month, my pastor went a little beyond that, pointing out that’s it’s not just the birth of Jesus we should be celebrating, but the message that he brought. The message was/is radical. It’s about flipping things upside down. It’s about the son of God being born in a barn. It’s about the son of God coming to earth as a baby, one of the most vulnerable creatures on the planet. How much love did that take?

Sometimes it’s easy to feel sorry for myself, especially when I think about how my Christmas has changed. But I’ve been thinking about those without any family to spend Christmas with. I think about those with family members who are no longer here, and how Christmas can often be a sharp reminder of that loss. Christ’s love should drive me to not only appreciate what I have now (which is a lot) but also to demonstrate that outpouring of love to others, others who are much less fortunate than I am.

So what is Christmas about? Too much to write about in one blog post. But, an aspect is love. And service. My hope is that Christmas will remind me to do a little bit more of each.

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