We have entered into the season of Advent. Advent is a season of preparation. Many of us are busy preparing for Christmas. Maybe you are preparing by putting up a Christmas tree, hanging lights outside your house, or buying presents for your family. Maybe you are preparing for Christmas programs to attend or making travel plans. Or maybe you are eagerly preparing to host family gatherings. Then there is all the other stuff you do throughout the rest of the year.
Tonight the Christmas Tree will be lighted up at Rockefeller Center in New York City. There will undoubtedly be throngs of people to catch a glimpse. Last year my family made the mistake of attempting to see the tree on a Friday night. We brought our twin boys in a stroller. People were shoulder to shoulder, and while we tried to see the tree, there was absolutely no way we were going to be able to push the stroller through the crowd. In the end, we had to settle for catching a glimpse of it from the other side of 5th Avenue, a block away.
How different that was from the first Christmas. There was no crowd except for a handful of shepherds and some wise men who came later. The town lay silent. There were so many people who missed out on Christmas. They missed the miracle that was taking place right under their noses.
Today we have the crowds but how many of us still miss Christmas? It is right there under our noses, but so many of us are caught up in the rush of Christmas that we miss the miracle of Christmas.
The last two years I have made it a point to read the Advent Conspiracy during Advent. This book imagines a better Christmas. It challenges us to:
- Worship fully
- Spend less
- Give more
- Love all
Every time I have read this book in December, I wish I would have read it in November. It leads me to repentance of my misguided celebration of Christmas and helps me to reimagine a Christmas where Christ is part of the celebration. It is easy to complain that other people have taken Christ out of Christmas. But before we go pointing the finger at anyone else, let’s consider how we have taken Christ out of Christmas. While we can easily see the sin in others, we are often blind to our sin.
Advent means “arrival or appearing.” It is a time when we anticipate the arrival of Christ. It is not just about his birth in Bethlehem. It’s not just about his coming in glory to judge the living and the dead. It is also about his coming into our daily lives.
What does it mean for Christ to appear in my daily life? What does it mean for Christ to be a part of the Christmas celebration? We have made it a season of excess and extravagance. We have made it about eat, drink, and be merry. What if it was less about extravagance and more about Christ? What if it was less about being filled with food and wine, and more about filled with the Holy Spirit? I imagine it would be a much more merry celebration!
Questions for Reflection
- Where is Christ often absent in our personal Christmas celebrations?
- What does it look like to keep Christ in Christmas?
- What does it mean to spend less, but give more?
- Share your comments.
Gretchen says
I love this article. I think about the unwrapping of presents Christmas morning and that somehow Christ is absent – I never thought about this. We are trying to limit gifts this year so hopefully this will allow more space for remembering the real reason for the season.
Anna Flake says
Thank you for this aticle! I have been wanting to have a better relationship with my grandchildren. This has inspired me to give a gift of time.
DeSena, Anita says
Growing up a first generation American back in the 1940’s of Scandanavian parents, we had no grasp of “Santa” but our Lutheran church formed our beliefs. I raised my children in the same manner but today’s youngsters are flooded by the media with a superficial, sadly non-Christ, attitude. Our gifts were simple & only one each child. Mostly handcrafted by Dad, a carpenter. An ordinary stocking held one orange at the toe, with Mom made cookies on top. A very shy child, I once was given the part of the Angel in the Sunday School pagent. Every Christmas these simple thoughts pass through my mind and give ME the JOY of CHRISTMAS
Julie Lindstrom says
I love your simple Christmas and the wonderful memories you have from those years. I truly wish it was more like that today.
Kathy S says
My church family and friends are embarking on two adventures this Advent. First we are doing an Advent study of the revised common lectionary. For two lessons we have learned about Paul and his real love for the early Christians. Not just serving the people, but really loving them. This is definitely a good challenge for us to accept this Advent.
We are also going on a walking journey to Bethlehem. According to Google, Mary and Joseph would have walked 96.7 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Our individual goals are to walk that distance during Advent. This concept is to contemplate Mary and Joseph’s journey as we walk through our daily lives this Advent season. Also from our city of Marion, Ohio to Bethlehem is 6,075 miles. As a group we hope to make this distance. Does anyone care to join us?
Phil Ressler says
Kathy – that sounds like a fun project! God’s blessings on the journey.
Adele Baxter says
This is a good article and gives me a lot to think about. We do not go shopping anymore except for some grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. We have a tree at church that has something a child needs of one of these grandparents are raising. There are a lot of needs out there and our plan is to purchase something for a couple of children. I’m also doing a book study this year on a book by Henri J. M. Nouwen called, “The Inner Voice of Love.” A Journey through Anguish to Freedom. Thank you for these wonderful
articles.
Adele