Thoughts on defining what Christmas is
Christmas ? the season is upon us, and it is moving fast. It always does, especially with the countdowns we hear on the news most nights and the tasks we have to get done. It’s like getting on a bullet train that will come to a screeching halt on Christmas Day. One writer put it this way about the day after Christmas, “Nothing is more over than Christmas when it’s over!” I’m not sure Christmas should have a start and end date, though maybe a beginning one.
I think we often enter this season with anticipation or anxiety — anticipation of the holiday giving us a wonderful time, a promise that it may not be able to keep, or anxiety at all the money we have to spend, presents we have to buy and added events we have to attend — events added to an already full life and money spent when we might be maxed out already. Most of us try our best to tie the secular and the sacred together in a meaningful way. We enjoy a tree and lights, so up they go. We know it’s about the birth of Christ, so we make sure we put Christmas Eve Candlelight on the calendar. (It’s on mine.)
So, the question is, “What about the Christmas season can we take into the new year that will build and expand our lives?” I think the answer is relationships — relationships that have grown in family, friendships, marriage, church and with Jesus Christ himself. Separate the living part of the season from that which is not. If the lights don’t work on one side of the tree (like our tree), that is not a problem. But if we don’t find time to hold the hand of a loved one and don’t find time to connect to Jesus, that is a problem. The tree goes up into the attic, but our relationships will define what 2012 will be and also what it won’t be.
- The eyes of a child experiencing the firsts of Christmas
- Sitting next to someone in church who you love holding hands with
- Sharing a tradition you love with someone else
- Kneeling at the foot of God (Christmas is God’s footprint on earth.)
- Finding a place to serve or give to another
- Making a friend
- Forgiveness, gratitude, hope, faith
If we are not intentional about what matters to us and God, then when Christmas ends, it ends. If we are intentional about our relationship with God and others, then Christmas is the beginning of the brightness of the good life in Jesus Christ.
Category: Weekly Thoughts
