It was cold, but still outside. It was warm and bubbly in the jacuzzi!
There, a man with a distinctly Bristolian burr was chatting to a young woman from Philadelphia. The two were talking about cultural differences between the UK and ‘Philly.’ They spoke about Halloween, Bonfire Night and Thanksgiving. When the shifted to talking about Christmas, the man explained that Christmas in England Christmas was just a big party, with presents and a man with a beard and red suit. In more hushed tones, hard to hear above the whirring white noise of the whirlpool, he said ‘you’d never know now, but when I was a kid, it used to have a religious meaning.’ It was clear that he felt that something had been lost.
‘It still does have a religious meaning’ I longed to say and ‘it really, really matters!’ I tried but failed to find a non-weird and natural way into their private conversation. Why? Because I think that many people are still interested in what the man termed the ‘religious’ aspects of Christmas. Some just don’t realise it!
Many are desperate to get off the Christmas ‘hamster wheel’ where celebrations and presents need to be bigger, better, more sparkly and lavish every year. I am convinced that people want to uncover a deeper meaning.
Now I LOVE Christmas and the trimmings, and I will work to make Christmas gloriously twinkly, kitsch and tasty, but I also know that it is about so much more than consumerism, overindulgence and a bit of time off work.
What if that excessive consumerism is a misplaced desire for meaning?
What if the lavish giving of presents is not simply generosity, but also a way to try to show love in a time poor world?
What if the overindulgence is an attempt to feed a misplaced desire for spiritual fulfilment?
What if the precious ‘time off’ to reconnect with family and friends (and even with our own selves and God) is simply a return to something that a Western lifestyle often denies us? What if this was something God anticipated and when he gave his people Sabbath and holy-days?
People are looking for true meaning in life. Most won’t find it unless a follower of Jesus helps point them in Jesus’ direction. Of course, it’s difficult sharing faith in a context where many are devoted believers of self-fulfilment, consumerism and individual choice. Yet, listen to those around you from every generation – whilst it’s expressed in a variety of ways, there is a common sense that ‘there must be more than this!’
And there is! Perhaps it is a call to enter into deeper relationship with Jesus this Christmas. Perhaps it is a call to an initial decision to follow him. Whatever, each step we take is a step to a more profound meaning, to a greater experience of acceptance and love, to a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves, to an experience of deeper, peace, rest and refreshing.
But imagine if no one had told us that we could know the God who made us, that we could live forgiven, renewed lives, and that we could live forever in his loving presence? (God with us - Emmanuel.) What then?
Let me share one more story with you - this time not from a jacuzzi, but from a rather lavish dinner I had the opportunity to attend. (N.B: I really don’t spend much of my life at such posh dinners!)
Knowing that I was a church minister, the guy seated to my right, a retired stockbroker and a liveryman, tried to get a rise out of me by speaking about the ‘phallic nature of the table decorations’ (I have to say it wasn’t the first thing that crossed my mind!) He then moved on to state that he didn’t really agree with women bishops. Still not getting the rise he anticipated, he started asking various probing questions about the nature of ‘call’, experiential faith and why there was a need to respond to Christ if Christ has indeed ‘already done it all.’ Halfway through the evening, he thanked me, asked for my business card and said that I had been the first person in his entire life courageous enough to straight talk with him about his need to personally respond to all that Christ had done.’
So, don’t miss the opportunity to invite that friend or neighbour to something at Christmas. It’s the easiest time of the year to naturally invite someone. The worse they can do is say no. Risk sharing with someone the difference that having Jesus in your life makes. Isn’t it worth being a bit courageous if it offers people the chance to discover the gift of a new relationship with God, a gift wrapped in swaddling clothes and delivered on that very first Christmas.
And…if there were those who doubted even as they stood in the risen Jesus’ presence as he ascended to heaven, there will be plenty who doubt as we stumblingly share our faith. But there will also be those who receive it as a treasure of incalculable worth!
Have a blessed advent and a joyous Christmas!
Lindsay
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