I Hate Christmas!
Now there's something you would not expect to hear a Christian minister to say. This very true statement obviously requires explanation. It began in early October when a hospital I visited had the Christmas portions of Messiah playing through their piped in background music. Even if it's really early, at least it's glorious music I thought. The displays of ornaments, artificial trees, lights, etc. in Lowe's in late October I could almost grasp because folks may want to begin buying that stuff early to avoid too much holiday rush.
A couple of things pushed me over the edge, however. Hearing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" on the week before Thanksgiving as I scrolled through the radio stations in the car began it. A beautiful warm November day over a week before the turkeys hide to avoid becoming dinner, and I have to hear snowy Christmas songs? Churches too often buy into this by cranking up "Joy to the World," and "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The cumulative result of this is that Christmas Day is largely anticlimactic. When the last of the presents is pulled out from under the tree, and we've had our nice dinner, it's all over before it ever really began.
The other, and more serious, thing that did it was watching the news on Thanksgiving Day. There it is the morning of Thanksgiving Day and folks are camped in line in front of some big-box store to get in early when they open the doors for the "black Friday" sales. What is ostensibly a Christian holiday has become something like this where folks pass up family time and traditions to save a few dollars on a TV they don't need! Then when the malls and stores opened late Thursday night or in the wee hours of Friday morning we were greeted with stories of folks shooting each other or macing each other in a race to get to X-Boxes first. So this is what the cultural holiday has done to the birth of the one called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?"
No one cherishes the birth of the Savior more than I do. I confess that on Christmas Eve, I'll be singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" louder than I probably should. Most of the time I don't really know what I want for Christmas, but I'll move heaven and earth to make sure that the kids have a good time. What I hate is the fact that this most cherished day has become an occasion for pure hedonism and self-indulgence. Call me scrooge right now if you want, but I'm not buying in. This year, hold off on the great hymns and carols for a couple more weeks so that you can really enjoy them that last week of December. Spend just a little less than you usually do this time around. I'm not saying to scrap gift-giving, but hold back only fifty or a hundred dollars. Then take the money you save and get a present for the kid next door who doesn't have much. Give it away to provide food or water to drought stricken areas of the world. Gee, which is the better way to honor the incarnation of the Son of the Almighty God: to camp in front of a store for the opportunity to save a few dollars on a TV and pepper spray the poor soul who reaches for it at the same time; or to spend that time with your family and do something for someone in need? I rest my case.
A couple of things pushed me over the edge, however. Hearing "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" on the week before Thanksgiving as I scrolled through the radio stations in the car began it. A beautiful warm November day over a week before the turkeys hide to avoid becoming dinner, and I have to hear snowy Christmas songs? Churches too often buy into this by cranking up "Joy to the World," and "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The cumulative result of this is that Christmas Day is largely anticlimactic. When the last of the presents is pulled out from under the tree, and we've had our nice dinner, it's all over before it ever really began.
The other, and more serious, thing that did it was watching the news on Thanksgiving Day. There it is the morning of Thanksgiving Day and folks are camped in line in front of some big-box store to get in early when they open the doors for the "black Friday" sales. What is ostensibly a Christian holiday has become something like this where folks pass up family time and traditions to save a few dollars on a TV they don't need! Then when the malls and stores opened late Thursday night or in the wee hours of Friday morning we were greeted with stories of folks shooting each other or macing each other in a race to get to X-Boxes first. So this is what the cultural holiday has done to the birth of the one called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?"
No one cherishes the birth of the Savior more than I do. I confess that on Christmas Eve, I'll be singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" louder than I probably should. Most of the time I don't really know what I want for Christmas, but I'll move heaven and earth to make sure that the kids have a good time. What I hate is the fact that this most cherished day has become an occasion for pure hedonism and self-indulgence. Call me scrooge right now if you want, but I'm not buying in. This year, hold off on the great hymns and carols for a couple more weeks so that you can really enjoy them that last week of December. Spend just a little less than you usually do this time around. I'm not saying to scrap gift-giving, but hold back only fifty or a hundred dollars. Then take the money you save and get a present for the kid next door who doesn't have much. Give it away to provide food or water to drought stricken areas of the world. Gee, which is the better way to honor the incarnation of the Son of the Almighty God: to camp in front of a store for the opportunity to save a few dollars on a TV and pepper spray the poor soul who reaches for it at the same time; or to spend that time with your family and do something for someone in need? I rest my case.
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