Christmas: 12 Days of Wonder

Friends, Merry Christmas to each of you. Our journey together through the Church’s calendar brings me constant joy and satisfaction. God continues to bless our work in a variety of ways; I see his grace at work in us all. In his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message) writes of two biblical titles given to people of faith: disciple and pilgrim:

Disciple says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing-learning relationship, always…Pilgrim tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace, going to God, and whose path for getting there is the way, Jesus Christ. (17)

We are disciples and pilgrims. We are apprenticed to Christ, learning how to be people of faith, hope, and love in a relationship with Him. And we are going someplace, ever working towards the healing of the world and the recreation of our hearts through the putting on of His character and love, by the power of the Spirit, and in the context of the community of faith.

           

For this reason, I thought it fitting to type a short reminder of where we are as disciples, and where we are headed as pilgrims.

           

Where we have been:

Time is sacred. Because of the incarnation, the divine and human experiences have forever been united in Jesus Christ; He has brought heaven into union with earth. In so doing, eternity is able to break through into time. God is Spirit. He fills all time with his presence, yet is active in different segments of time in different ways.

You experienced this reality in Advent. Whether you felt the darkness and need in this world or the hope and promise of the coming Savior with Isaiah; whether you felt fit to prepare the way through humble yet bold witness or a convicting need to respond to the message of repentance with John the Baptist; whether you felt the intense joy and gratitude of Mary, the protective and obedient love of Joseph, or the affirming love of Elizabeth; no matter if you identified with one character strongly, felt your emotions tugged in all different directions, saw through the lies of America's Christmas of Consumption, or simply wanted the Christ child more than you ever have before; you have been in touch with the Spirit of God. You have delved deep into the overlapping elements of darkness and light, suffering and hope, lament and praise. You have embarked on a spiritual practice that will forever set a pattern for your life.

Where we are going:

Jesus Christ is born. God has burst onto the page of history. The second person of the Trinity, the Son, has taken on a human mind, a human will, a human body, and a human soul. He has emptied himself, not by giving up anything of his divine nature (He never ceases being God or doing the work of God), but by taking the nature of a servant. God the Son, the world’s savior, is here.

The tension we felt during Advent is released with the entering of the Prince of Peace. Our Advent labor pains are overcome by the wonder and awe of the Christ child. Darkness is overcome by the Light of the World.

Remember that Christmas is a twelve-day season. Recognizing it as such is outside of my personal experience, but I am excited to give it a try. Bobby Gross lists four obstacles to the Christmas season that we face, along with some ideas for combating them during these twelve days.

1)    Over-familiarity: We are too familiar with the Christmas story—or so we think. Try reading the accounts of Christmas in Matthew, Luke, and John with Advent lenses and Christmas joy. Look at popular texts like Philippians 2 or Isaiah 9 and experience them in a whole new way.

2)    Sentimentality: Culture makes Christmas hokey. Remember the three feasts that take place within the twelve days of Christmas that foreshadow the fate of the Christ child, that add tension and danger to the story. Mary and Joseph are by no means safe. The Christ child will enjoy his peaceful sleep for only a short time. A day is coming when the God of the universe will experience death to save His people.

a.    Dec. 26: Feast of St. Stephen (voluntary/executed martyrdom)

b.     Dec. 27: Feast of St. John (voluntary/ not executed martyrdom)

c.     Dec. 28: Commemoration of the Holy Innocents (involuntary/executed martyrdom)

3)    The Commercial Eclipse of Advent: We are usually ready for the Christmas season to be over because our going, going, going and buying, buying, buying of Advent have drained us. Take some time to retreat and rest during these twelve days. Ponder the incarnation daily. Engage in spiritual reflections and ask God how He might want you to respond to the great news of Christ's birth. Continue to practice self-giving love as you recognize that the greatest gift of all, Christ, is also the greatest giver of all. Christmas should be the jumpstart to a lifestyle of giving, not a one-day season for it.

4)    The reduction of Christmas to 1 day: The reduction of Christmas to one day simply does not allow us the time we need to rest in the wonder and awe of the season. “We’ve prepared for four weeks! We deserve more time for joy and fulfillment than one day!” You are right. Take twelve days to thank God for his indescribable gift. One way to do this is to ponder the names of Jesus Christ on January 1, the Feast of the Holy Name. Christ would have been circumcised and named on this day, so it is fitting for the New Year to focus on the names of the one who makes all things new.

a.     Meditate on Jesus: “God Saves”

b.     Meditate on Christ: “Anointed One” (He is the perfect prophet, the high priest, and the heavenly king)

c.     Meditate on Emmanuel: “God with us”

d.     Mediate on Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Mighty God, Prince of Peace

e.     Meditate on Light of the World

f.      Sing softly and prayerfully the great Christmas hymns: O Holy Night, Joy to the World, the First Noel, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, and many others.

I love you all. May these next few days be full of wonder and awe, gratitude and self-giving love, joy and rest, all in response to the coming of Christ, the one we have eagerly expected throughout our communal journey of hope, preparation, joy, and love in the Advent season.