I see the signs all over the place: “Keep Christ in Christmas”. I know that it is a noble sentiment—we are celebrating Jesus’s birthday—the reason for the season—all that jazz. It is a testament that His birth is celebrated all over the planet. But something about the sign rankles me, and I think I’ve figured out what it is. It implies that we have to prop Jesus up—that He’s fading and we have to make Him relevant again. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Trump wearing a hat with the slogan. My question is: how could we possibly keep Him out? The only way is to ignore Him, and that is way more our loss than His.
I’m well aware there’s a dark side to Christmas. Everybody talks about the commercialization. Black Friday and Cyber Monday and even poor old Small Business Saturday. I can’t recall meeting anyone who actually wanted to go to their office Christmas party. Doesn’t everyone seem to be in a hurry at Christmas? Hurry is not good for the soul. The season itself seems to wink at self-indulgence: eat more, drink more, spend more, be less active. Then there’s the stress: is the plane on time? Did we buy Aunt Emily enough? Don’t let Ray and Bob sit near each other. Won’t the potatoes get cold? Damn Cowboys lost again. The hurt feelings and the horrible greed—I didn’t get what I wanted. I like hers better than mine. They spent more on him than they did on me. Worst of all, the disagreements and outright fights. My friend who is a cop told me that domestic disturbances go sky high during the holiday season. If you are a mostly sane person, you probably experience all the above—only to a lesser degree.
You don’t have to be a religious zealot to enjoy the light side of Christmas. First and foremost, there is the joy of family. My son, his wife, and our three granddaughters live in Dallas. My other son and his wife live in Port Townsend, Washington. My daughter, her husband, another granddaughter (and one on the way!) live in Toronto. Anyone who is not dead inside is blown away by the shining light in the eyes of little children anticipating Christmas. Right now we are all in Dallas—joy to the world! (And we have four generations present—how cool is that?) Even in Texas, where the prospect of snow is dismal, you have to enjoy the season (who could imagine a sweltering Christmas?) And this holiday brings its own special kind of beauty—the tree, the decorations, the lights, the presents! The spirit of giving, though sometimes misshapen, is omnipresent—ask the bell ringers and Elf Louise workers and so on. One of my favorite parts is the food—Thanksgiving gets the glory but Christmas has just as much substance—and I like ham even better than turkey. I’ll bet every single reader has his/her own favorite Christmas song—from Silent Night to Robert Earl Keen’s Merry Christmas to the Family (a personal favorite of mine). And their favorite Christmas movie (Still can’t watch It’s a Wonderful Life without tearing up.). For me, Christmas officially begins with the Christmas Eve candlelight service, where the pews are packed with people who haven’t seen the inside of a church in twelve months but still hold up their candles reverently.
And this segues into the real side of Christmas. I guess this is what the signs are (or should be) about—Immanuel. God with us. Most of us get it that Christmas celebrates when the baby Jesus was born. We have Easter to remind us of the grief and great joy of the crucifixation and resurrection. But we all tend to forget constantly, consistently, carelessly Immanuel. God with us. Present. Here. Now. And, I am certain, enjoying Himself immensely. Yet we tend to treat Him like the elephant in the room. So I have a new Christmas word: permeate. Dictionary.com says: to pass into or through every part of. I want His Spirit to permeate everything we do to celebrate Christmas. Or rather, I want to become more aware of what is actually happening—“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made complete.” (John 15:11)
Have a joyous Christmas.
Just read this — yep, 4 months late, but I really, really enjoyed reading it. Perhaps I was meant to read it now, while mom is in the hospital. God is with us. It brings hope even now.
Merry Christmas to you and your family! I’m glad we connected again. You have a special gift of words.
Beautiful, Dallin! Merry Christmas!
Nice job dad.
Oh my gosh Dallas, Annalisa sent me this and I am blown away by the beauty you put into your words. I completely agree with your sentiments and am with you all in spirit. I pray these words sink in to those intended to hear them. Blessings to you all and let’s all welcome our Immanuel in! Beth
Thank you, Dalin! Beautifully written.
Good for you. All the pluses and minuses are mention. But, for me, everything about Christmas brings me joy except…thinking of the menus and getting all the food ready at the same time. Otherwise all is good! Merry Christmas
Amen! Beautiful.
Good for you. All the pluses and minuses are mention. But, for me, everything about Christmas brings me joy except…thinking of the menus and getting all the food ready at the same time. Otherwise all is good! Merry Christmas
Couldn’t have said it better myself Uncle Dal! Can’t wait to see you!