Hope for Life Blog

It is a strange question, but one that perplexes many people this time of year:  what do you do with Jesus at Christmas?  Is this a religious or a secular holiday?  Since this year Christmas falls on a Sunday, do you go to church or open presents around the tree?  Or both?  How do you treat friends who insist that Jesus is the reason for the season?  What about friends who do not believe in Jesus?  How do you combine Santa Claus, baby Jesus, reindeer, and wise men into one season?  What do people do with Jesus this time of year.

1.  Ignore him.  Xmas instead of Christmas.  Trees and stockings, but not nativity scenes.  “Deck the Halls”, but not “Away in a Manger”.  Read The Night Before Christmas, but not Matthew 1 and 2.
2. Be a little religious.  Be nicer to people.  Focus on giving, not getting.  Show up at church on Christmas day, or at least Christmas Eve.  Make a charitable donation or two.  Give some presents to the underprivileged.  Include going to church and being a better person with your New Year’s Resolutions.
3. Keep Jesus a baby.  Focus on the nativity.  Attend the wise men, shepherds, animals, Mary and Joseph pageants.  Be sure to go to the ones put on by the little kids.  They are cuter than and not as startling as the real event was.  This approach does not seem to recognize that the baby grew up and died on a cross.  So save that for Easter weekend.
4. Celebrate Jesus just like you do every day.  Realize that Jesus did not come to earth so we could celebrate a birthday.  He came to save us from our sins.  That is the good news.  He was born to die.  He was raised to live.  Jesus is not the reason for the season.  He is the reason for every season.

As for me, I am happy to celebrate Jesus at Christmas… and in January, and in spring, and summer… and well, every day.

Blessings,

steve

I have to confess: I like looking at extravagant Christmas gifts. Not out of any desire to give or receive them. I just like to marvel at what’s available.

Some of them are amazingly expensive. Like the Ferrari FF listed at Neiman Marcus; it can be yours for only $390,000. You may want to hurry. They only have 10 available.

For mom, Amazon lists a black pearl necklace for a mere $76,500 dollars. Don’t worry… the item ships for free.

Another option is a gift card from Halcyon jets. A $5 million gift card! Actually, it’s called a Dream Card, and it gives you full access to their complete fleet of jets, as well as a private aviation specialist and a personal concierge.

For the truly discriminating, might I suggest you consider purchasing an island? You can get a lovely 20-acre island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for a mere $8 million. Sorry… only one per customer.

Most of us won’t be spending quite as much on Christmas gifts, though many will spend more than they should. There’s something about the Christmas season that makes us want to give gifts in a big way.

However, we know that the greatest gift has already been given. No one can match the extravagance of our Heavenly Father, who gave us what the apostle Paul calls an “indescribable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15) God gave us His own Son, not as a Christmas gift, but as the gift that never stops giving. God’s Son, Jesus, came and died, to give us all the right to claim the gift of eternal life.

The apostle John famously wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16–17)

In this season of giving and receiving, let’s take time to remember the greatest gift of all: God’s Son. And let’s make sure that we’ve claimed the gift He offers each of us: the gift of eternal life.

It’s awkward isn’t it? “Happy Thanksgiving” no longer applies. “Survive Black Friday” doesn’t seem appropriate because you did. And since it’s the last day of November it’s a bit early to say “Merry Christmas”. So we’re stuck with “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”.

Historically the busiest day for buying Christmas presents is the Saturday before Christmas and the second is Christmas Eve. This year both of those fall on Saturday, December 24.

So my suggestion is that we greet each other with “Survive Christmas Frenzy time”.

It seems easy to lose Jesus amid the hurry and scurry of finding that perfect present and the varied activities of celebrating the season. It’s easy to reduce Him to a catch phrase, “the reason for the season!!”

Yet, He IS the reason for the season. His birth was heralded as welcome to the Savior of the world. And through Him we have the promise of life forever with God Almighty.

For there’s born to you this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Luke 2:11-14

So maybe we should say to each other, “Thank God for Jesus.”

So what do you think?

She sits in a straight backed desk chair, dressed in a festive shirt and sweater, slowly and carefully unwrapping each item, running her fingers over the surface as if to absorb the impression contained within. Then she carefully hangs the treasure on just the right branch somehow knowing the place had been reserved for it only. Her white hair gleams, the result of the decision to cease the hair coloring addiction and go a la natural a year or so earlier. Her eyes dart from the item to its assigned place and a smile curves her lips, as images of years past flood her mind.

To my wife of 40 years, Christmas is wondrous time and decorating the tree may be the single best part of the season. It’s not the ornaments, but the memories they evoke that bring her so much joy. Each ornament has a story; the parachuting Santa Clause when both of our sons jumped out of a perfectly functioning airplane, the flannel Beefeaters from Harrods’s when we visited England, the ornaments purchased to commemorate the births of our 3 grandchildren, the handmade wreath with our middle son’s picture from first grade. These are Christmas ornaments some decades old, chronicling our life’s events, big and small. When the grandchildren help decorate the tree, she has told them the stories so often that they now say, “and this little ferryboat was when you and Papa went to some island, isn’t it Nana?” and then she tells about our brief visit to Martha’s Vineyard some 15 years ago.

The scene takes place every December and every year new memories are added to the tree. Every year she unwraps them, and remembers. I am envious of her gift and am thankful that she freely tells all who listen, the memories of our family.

In our family, the green artificial pine tree with its multicolored lights and ornaments is the Brant Family Memory Tree.

So this holiday season as you gather around the Thanksgiving table and sit by the Yule Tree also remember the words of the doctor as he described that night long ago:

“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord and this will be the sign to you; you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.”

So what are your favorite memories of the Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Do God and Jesus have a part in your families celebration of those days?
Has the reason for the season been forgotten?
What does “and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men” look like to you?

What a mixed bag of emotions is Christmas in our society!

For some, it’s a time of giving and getting, a time to spend more money than should be spent to buy things that nobody really needs. For others, it’s a time of quiet religious reflection.

For some, Christmas is a special, family time, sharing precious hours with those that we care about. For others, it’s a time of loneliness and hurt.

For some, Christmas is a deeply significant time to remember the birth of Jesus and reflect on the meaning of his coming to earth. For others, it is merely another day, sharing space in the holiday season with Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and New Year’s Day.

For some, Christmas is a desperately needed time to sell goods and make one last bit of profit in a difficult year. For others, it’s a time to protest the religious misconceptions that abound in this celebration.

With sentiments like these vying with one another for the place of prominence in our thinking, it’s easy for us to feel more than a bit overwhelmed. If you’re feeling swept away, let me offer some ancient words of wisdom:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:6-9).

In the maelstrom of emotion during this holiday season, let God surround you with his peace. Cast all of your worries on him and focus on the things that will truly bring you peace.

May there be peace on earth during these coming days and months, and may there be peace in your life.