I have been reading more than my fair share of Christmas emails, letters, blogs, and other communiques from a whole host of suppliers. I am starting to sense a theme. If you read my earlier post about December 26th you will see that I am not immune to the trend to "over simile" Christmas into a neat little package fit for quick consumption or inspiration. I am guilty but I am not alone.
Christmas the event & not the holiday suffers from an interpretation problem. So overcome are we with Christmas the holiday that we want to make sense of the event through the holiday vehicle we know best. So it is not surprising that we get "Jesus is like the Christmas Gift..." or "God's love is like lights on the Christmas Tree. Things just don't glow like they should without it" when Christmas comes around. The reality is that Christmas the event does not authentically fit into a "Christmas is like" form. Christmas the event - the day of Christ's birth - is so unique, so "other" that shoe-string similes seem hallow, contrived and perhaps dangerous to the true message of Christmas.
Christmas at its core is about a radical, profound moment in the history of humanity when the lowly are exulted and a child born to poor parents in a manger is given the same title as the Roman Emperor. When we hear the Shepherds call Jesus "Lord" our modern ears do not perk up yet there in that small manger was a Child who would be the true Lord, Savior and King over the Roman Empire's attempt to demonstrate Lord through might and law. Christmas turns everything on its head, upsetting the rules and giving hope to those who have been under the thumb of oppression. When word spreads to the lowly throughout the land that the true Lord comes to liberate the oppressed and not profit off of them we begin to see the Kingdom of God manifesting itself in the here and now. This is the good news that comes to us in Christmas. That Jesus' birth means that the ways things are are not the way things should be.
Christmas Eve is almost here. We here at Boulevard are putting the finishing touches on the services that will help us celebrate the birth of Christ in community. It is my prayer that as we celebrate Christ's birth we remember that the presents and the lights under the tree may help us celebrate but they are not the reason for the celebration felt all the world around.
Merry Christmas and I hope to see you here on Thursday!
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