Aaron Reimer
Special to The Guardian
As we enter into the block of four Sundays that the Church calls advent, a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christmas, take a second and think of a holiday memory from this time of year.
It doesn’t matter what it is, good or bad, big or small, just the first thing that comes to your mind. Got it? If I was a betting man, I’d bet that what popped into your head had to do with a tradition you associate with the season, giving gifts, decorating for the holiday or gathering with friends and family to share food and drink. ‘Tis the season and what not.
The Christmas season (apparently now officially from Nov. 1 to Dec. 27) is packed with important cultural stuff like presents, lights, ornaments, wreaths, cookies, songs, movies and highly improbable, yet enjoyable, characters. It’s got a lot of stuff associated with it is what I’m saying. Christmas is a beloved cultural icon, so much so that people who don’t give a hoot about Jesus are singing songs about angels announcing his birth. They also sing about mommy kissing an aforementioned improbable character and grandma getting run over by another one, but I digress.
I guess that’s why another beloved tradition is people who can’t be bothered to tell their neighbours about the way they keep Christ in their lives going berserk about keeping Christ in Christmas, but that’s also not where I’m going with this.
Because the truth is that for most people, Christmas isn’t about Christ. Christmas is about family, or giving, or holiday spirit, whatever that is. There’s the cultural tradition and there’s Jesus.
If it’s a competition, Jesus is losing.
That’s normal. It’s so normal that for most Christians, Christmas isn’t about Christ. Sure, we keep Christ in Christmas, but he’s like the star on top of the tree, he’s what we add on after we’re done with everything else. We do gifts. We do decorations. We do trees. We do food. We do Jesus.
So, obviously that solution is to just get rid of all the cultural trappings of Christmas and just focus on what matters, right?
No. You knew that wasn’t the right answer. You’re so smart.
What if it’s not Christmas plus … culture vs Jesus? How could our outlook and our outreach over this season change if we could help the world remember the truth that Christ is in every Christmas tradition that they cherish?
As we give gifts to our loved ones, we remember that in the Christ child, God the Father gave a gift of deep beauty that also served our deepest need. As we hang our Christmas wreaths, we remember that a wreath of thorns and brambles was the crown he was destined to wear. As we string lights on a tree, we remember that the light of the world was destined to be hung on a cross. As we share a feast with our friends and family, we remember that the Christmas doesn’t just point to the cross; it points through it to the time that because of Christ we can share that loving community with him forever.
It’s not a competition. It’s a celebration of the victory Jesus won – all of it – from heaven to earth and back again. The way we celebrate Christmas isn’t just the prelude to the Gospel; it’s the whole story, It’s the good news from start to finish.
Go, tell it ... everywhere.
Aaron Reimer is a pastor at Island Wesleyan Church. A guest sermon runs regularly in Saturday’s Guardian and is provided through Christian Communications.
