So, Christmas is Over, huh?
I have a poem I’d like to share with you. It’s called "The Month After Christmas."
‘Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house, nothing would fit me,
not even a blouse.
The cookies I’d nibbled, the fudge I did taste, all the holiday parties had gone to my
waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number! When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber).
I remembered the marvelous meals I’d prepared, the gravies and sauces and beef
nicely rare.
The pies and the cakes, the bread and the cheese, and the way I never said, "No
thank you please."
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt, and prepared once again to do battle
with dirt---
I said to myself, as I only can "You can’t spend the winter disguised as a man!"
So away with the last of the sour cream dip, get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker
and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished, ‘till all the additional ounces have
vanished.
I won’t have a cookie, not even a lick, I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie, I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly
cry.
I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore --- But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot ... Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
The title of my message today is CHRISTMAS IS OVER...NOW WHAT?
So take in a big breath, now let out a big sigh. Christmas is over. Or is it? Let’s
think about this a minute.
We’re really in the middle of celebrating the Christmas season right now, because
Christmas doesn’t begin until Dec. 25th when we celebrate the birth of Christ. So
actually, according to the Christian calendar, it’s still Christmas.
Of course, according to the secular world, the Christmas season started about the
day after Halloween and ended on Dec. 25th. This lengthy season give you, the
consumer, plenty of time to spend, spend, spend, because, really, love for our fellow
man is measured by how much we spend, right? Then, on Dec. 26th, the POST-
Christmas season begins, when you’re expected to rush out to the big sales to spend
even more money on those items that you didn’t receive on the 25th.
We are always so busy during the Christmas season. Rushing here, rushing there. I
spent part of Christmas day working on this message I’m sharing with you today.
I’m not telling you this to imply that I never take a day off or that spending time
with my family is less important. No, as most of you can attest to, writing is much
easier when the thoughts are fresh in your mind.
Christmas Day was a little different this year in many ways at our house. Wendy’s
mom works at Countryside Nursing Home and, for the first time in a few years, she
had to work on this day. So that changed the schedule of things somewhat. Instead
of getting up and rushing around (actually Wendy rushing around, I’ll admit I don’t
do much) to make the final preparations for the day, we got up, had a nice, leisurely
breakfast, opened our presents to each other, and then had most of the day to relax
and prepare for our late afternoon meal with Wendy’s parents and my sister.
Cody spent time in his room sitting on his new bean-bag chair (in South Central
colors) putting together his 3 or 4 new Lego sets. Wendy was able to relax and just
enjoy the day because she had most of the dinner prepared and I went into my office
to finalize this message, which I enjoy doing each week. A wonderful day.
Yet, as we were opening our presents that morning, the thought that had been
dwelling in my mind for the past several weeks came right to the forefront of my
thinking. The thought that we, as Christians, are polarized by this holiday. We battle
against the secularization and commercialism of one of the 2 most Holy days in the
life of a Christian.
We participate in the holiday hustle and bustle of shopping, parties, etc. while
raging against the system. Our priorities are all tangled up just like our tree lights
when we get them out each year, no matter how hard we try to keep them neat and
orderly. So we close our eyes and try to focus on the reason for the season, but
when we open them the world keeps getting in our face.
1. On one hand we see crowded shopping malls, & presents that need to be bought,
& traffic jams, & a pile of cards to be sent out. We see all the commercialization of
Christmas.
2. But on the other hand we see a manger & a young mother holding a baby in her
arms. We see a tired carpenter who has led them across a desert area to a place of
warmth & safety. We hear angels singing, & see shepherds coming in adoration, &
wise men bringing their gifts.
The two pictures simply don’t go together. They conflict with one another. So we
come away confused, wondering what we are really supposed to see at Christmas
time.
I think C. S. Lewis hit the nail on the head when he said, "We really celebrate two
holidays on December 25th. One we call ’Xmas’ & the other we call ’Christmas.’"
Maybe we ought to separate the two & understand that they are actually different
holidays.
On the Xmas side, we have a figure - Santa Claus. And on the Christmas side we
also have a figure - Jesus.
On the Xmas side we have symbols - a Christmas tree, jingling bells, & reindeer.
And on the Christmas side we also have symbols - a manger, shepherds, & wise
men.
On the Xmas side we have presents - trinkets that we buy, that often cost too much
money, that break or wear out. On the Christmas side we have a priceless gift, given
for free, that will last forever & ever.
And it is important that we separate the two holidays in our minds because you see,
Grinches can steal Xmas, but Grinches can’t steal Christmas.
Circumstances can rob us of Xmas. If we can’t buy the gifts, if we don’t have the
money, if we aren’t invited to the right parties, if we don’t feel a part of things, if the
kids have gone away & aren’t coming home to visit, if we are suffering pain or
hardship, if there’s no snow on the ground - all these can rob us of Xmas, because
Xmas depends on circumstances, on presents & cards & celebration & all the things
that go with it. And if they are not there then we won’t have a merry Xmas.
But Christmas comes anyway, whether there are cards or presents or trees or feasts
or parties. Christmas comes anyway. It is important to realize that nothing can rob
us of the real joy of Christmas.
Every year we hear people say, "Oh no, Christmas is coming. I don’t even want to
think about Christmas coming again." This thought usually occurs starting in Oct.
Those are the people who are celebrating Xmas. They are all caught up in the
pressure & the expense & the materialism of it all.
But the people who get the most out of it are those celebrating the joy & wonder of
Christmas, & nothing can take that away from us.
I’d like a show of hands, please. Who enjoyed Christmas MORE this year? Did
anyone enjoy it LESS? How many say the same? In some respects, I enjoyed
Christmas less this year. On the other hand, in most ways I enjoyed Christmas more
this year. One aspect of Christmas that I enjoyed less was actually the Xmas part of
the holiday. Now don’t get me wrong, I love giving and receiving gifts as much as
anyone, but the commercialization is really getting out of hand, what with one ad
prompting us to give a Lexus for a gift. The other aspect is my problem with
correctness. Yes, my problem. Some of you already know what I’m talking about.
99.9% of the Nativity scenes, you see, are wrong in my opinion. The baby Jesus
should not be in the stable scene before Christmas Eve night. Same goes for the
wise men. They arrived much later.
This actually ties into the main thing I enjoyed MORE about Christmas this year.
Most people don’t give the accuracy of the Nativity a second thought and that’s
fine. But as I continue on my own personal journey, I’ve come to the realization of
the real significance of Christmas. I’ve come to appreciate the value of the most
wonderful gift that anyone could possible receive. I’ve come to understand the
magnitude of what God has done, not just for you, not just for me, but every single
person in this commercialized, secularized world.
Because Christmas means that God keeps His Word. John 1:1,14, “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word
became flesh and lived among us......” You see, God is a God of His Word 365
days of the year. In that sense, we can celebrate Christmas all year. In one of my
all-time favorite movies, Miracle on 34th Street (the original), the character played
by Edmund Gwenn explains it best with the line, “Christmas isn’t a day; Christmas
is a state of mind.”
To sum it all up, the next time someone asks, "Well Christmas is over ... now
what?", ask them what they mean by Christmas being over. Christmas is never over
because our God keeps His Word 24/7/365.
