Advent Reflections 2024 - December 1

Messy Christmas

Scripture focus: Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2

Okay, friends, I have a confession to make. I love all the mess that comes with Christmas. I relish the hustle and bustle, the preparation for gatherings and social events, the shopping, the decorating, the cookie-baking, card writing, tree-trimming, wreath-making, meal-planning, stocking-stuffing...  I don’t even mind the steady diet of non-stop Christmas music on the radio and the endless stream of programs like Holiday Baking Championship, Christmas Cookie Challenge, and Gingerbread Showdown on Food Network!

I realize that, in recent years, mine has become an increasingly unpopular opinion. At times, I have wondered if there is something wrong with me for craving (and actually enjoying) the craziness. Often, I have felt guilty, as if I might need to “go underground” due to the prevalence of advice on how to stay sane during the holiday season: tips for simplifying, de-cluttering, de-stressing, and de-compressing. More than once, I have been invited on television, on social media, and even in church to take a deep breath, unplug, disconnect from the hectic pace, contemplate the season in an attitude of peace and tranquility. I admit, I have resisted, even bristled at, this advice. Once, I even dashed off a poem as a rant about how I wished people would refrain from telling me what to do (or not do) to celebrate Christmas!

As a high school teacher for forty years, part of my job was to attend in-service activities designed to help students develop skills to cope with different kinds of life stresses. The most important thing I learned in grief-counseling workshops is that there is no one right way to grieve; in whatever ways people choose individually to work through the process, there should be no judgment. To extrapolate, I believe that there is more than one way to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Certainly, there is a place for “Silent Night” where “all is calm”.  But Matthew 1:19 tells us that, in the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth, there was also concern about the potential scandal of what appeared to be an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Luke mentions the huge crowds coming to Bethlehem for the census; Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn. There were angels in the skies, not just one or two, but a great company of the heavenly host, and terrified shepherds on the hills below. There was a jealous king on the rampage to find and kill the baby who had been prophesied to someday become King of the Jews. There was Mary and Joseph’s desperate and hasty flight into Egypt to keep the child safe from Herod’s murderous wrath.

The point is that Christmas, even from the first, has been messy. So whether your style is to choose the quiet hearth, soft music, and a cup of cocoa on Christmas Eve or the thrill of the hunt to find the perfect stocking stuffer during the last shopping hour before the stores close, know that the message of God’s love inherent in the birth of Jesus is for all of us, no matter our personal style. As we welcome the coming of the Christ child, let us embrace the many ways in which we are free to experience the blessings of this holy (and sometimes crazy), wonderful season.

Cynthia Graff

11/24/24