I have been thinking about Christmas a lot lately. So, I’m sure, have been most people. Some can’t wait for the arrival, while others can’t wait for it to end.
I can see both perspectives. It is painful to endure if you see Christmas as being all about the hype and hoopla (and there is plenty of that) or the constant parade of advertisements pandering to every greedy cell in our bodies.
It is a fantastic season if you enjoy Christmas as a series of parties and family get-togethers. If not, you want it to be over.
If the season is about Advent leading up to Christmas and celebrating the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, it is a special season indeed.
For the believer, Christmas is about Christ.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 ESV
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35 ESV
The critical moment in history, foretold by these words, is while we celebrate Christmas. It’s why we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
Warning … personal rant follows…
It saddens me to see how few churches even bother with a Christmas Day service anymore. Our community has approximately 60 local assemblies, and only two offer Christmas Day services (at least according to a quick online search). Perhaps there are more than the two, but whatever the actual number, it is a decided minority.
Pastors have explained that the service is not offered because of poor attendance and the staff being given the day off.
I oppose attending a Christmas Day service as a legalistic requirement or empty ritual. I’m not condemning the churches that don’t offer Christmas Day; after all, it isn’t a faith essential to gather on December 25. Still, it does break my heart that even believers have relegated celebrating Christ’s birth to a secondary or even tertiary status.
Whether you attend a Christmas Day service or not, take some time during the day, amidst the festivities, to celebrate the reason for the season and praise the Lord.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin