I need to be honest. Going to church between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is one of my pet peeves. My wife just rolls her eyes anymore and lets me rattle on about it — she’s kind that way. Yet, each year I go to church during those few weeks with a lot of hesitancy. Here’s why: Christmas is not Easter.
I love the reason we set aside time on our calendar to remember God’s interactions with humanity. God is not far off and distant. God is real and cares for us more than we give credit for. The Bible tells us this,
The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
{John 1:14, The Message}
God moved into the neighborhood in the form of Jesus. Let that sink in for a minute or two. God took on human form and lived among us. Amazing. That is something worth celebrating.
I turned on the TV a couple of days ago and saw someone sitting in front of a decorated tree in a room fully decked out for Christmas. He was sitting there talking in detail about Jesus’ crucifixion. A Christmas message about Jesus’ death. This is not isolated to a guy trying to get ratings for his show. I have heard this message from many pulpits at Christmas time throughout the years.
Why?
Why is there a need to talk about Jesus’ death at the time we set aside to celebrate his birth? I completely understand an Easter message of Jesus’ death and resurrection. How and why Jesus’ birth is connected to his death is a conversation that I can have any day of the week. What I don’t understand is the need to gloss over and minimize the message of Jesus’ birth. Especially on the days set aside to anticipate his coming.
The season of advent is about hope, joy, love, and peace. Those are the things that the message of Jesus’ birth brought to earth.
Hope that the world you are living in right now, however twisted, hard, and misguided it may feel, is not the world you were created for. The hope of Jesus says there’s a better life for you. Today. Not in the future at some point or after you die. Now. One that restores you to the person God meant for you to be.
Joy in life can be yours because God came to earth in human form to show you what it looks like to fully live. You can find joy in the moment. You can feel joy every day even when things around you suck. God’s joy can lift you up and give you a new perspective.
Love. Love that connects you with others and binds members of a community together. Love that is patient, kind, forgiving, doesn’t keep track of your mistakes, sees the best in you, hopes all things, endures all things, and never gives up. That kind of love can be a part of your life because God came to earth and lived it out to show us what it looks like.
Peace for all is offered. Not cheap peace that needs written down in a treaty and broken or kept. Real peace. Peace with God. Peace with the one who created you. The kind of peace that you feel deep down in your soul and can't explain. Peace you can only know because of God.
These are what we use this time of advent for. These are things worth celebrating and getting excited about. God found it exciting enough that angels were sent to announce Jesus' birth. God found it meaningful enough that the stars were used to broadcast a message across the sky to all who were paying attention. And God found it personal enough that individuals were chosen and an infant named Jesus was put in their hands to be cared for. This is not a season to be overlooked for what happens 33 years later. This is a season to be cherished, pondered, revered, and celebrated all at the same time.
God came to earth. God became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.
Wow.