We ask too much of Christmas
but who can blame us?
Raised as we are on commercials showing
glowing faces,
joyful reunions,
and just the perfect amount of snow falling outside.
We anticipate it,
plan for it, budget for it, buy for it.
We make lists and check them twice,
repeat traditions handed down
from loved ones here and long gone.
We bake, shop, wrap and party.
We exhaust ourselves making merry and bright.
We come to Christmas burdened with the same burdens,
grieved with the same griefs and sins;
dressed up pretty,
hidden in dark places .
Are we asking too much of Christmas?
Expecting a day of peace and harmony?
Do we really think our biggest problems
will go away with tasty treats and the perfect gift?
Or do we long for more,
So much more?
Something even Christmas day can't give.
Maybe Christmas disappoints us because we ask too much of it.
We ask what was meant to be
a beginning and a taste
to be ultimate.
To satisfy.
But Christmas is just the start of God’s Emmanuel work.
At Christmas God broke into our humanity,
bringing hope that one day all will be well.
It wasn’t all well on that first Christmas when Christ was born
and it isn’t all well now.
Wars still rage.
Babies still die.
Sickness takes away those we love.
Stress and strain tear at us from every side.
We hear more bad news than good.
We wake up exhausted to face another day.
Christmas gives us a break from work
and day to enjoy the sweet things in life,
time to reflect on our Savior (if we’re intentional),
and memories to share.
But it doesn’t fix things.
It doesn't satisfy us the way we’d hope.
Far better to let Christmas be what it is:
a reminder that hope broke into darkness.
The world was (and is) as bad as we think
so a savior was born to die.
Christmas isn’t meant to satisfy our hearts,
it’s meant to reorient our hearts
to the prophesied One who was
Born miraculously
Hunted by a jealous king
Rejected by men
Afflicted by sorrow
Misunderstood by those who claimed to know God
Abandoned by his friends
Punished unjustly
Killed cruelly
Buried in a grave
Punished for our sin
Only to rise from the dead
Defeating death
Completing His work
Saving His people
Making a way back to God
Promising His eternal presence
Making a way to life after death
Giving true and certain hope that all will be well
Not on Christmas Day
But when He returns
So if you feel let down by Christmas,
it's okay.
You'll never be let down by Christ.
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