Preparing for Christmas

     Christmas is almost upon us.  This beautiful holiday dominates our December every year.  But how do we get the most out of it?  How do we prepare ourselves for it?
     First, pause and reflect.  December is very busy for most people.  There can be travel or house guests, there are presents to buy and extra events to attend.  Make sure that you take a little time in these final days leading up to Christmas to stop, be still.  Read the gospel accounts of the arrival of Jesus found in Matthew 1:18—2:18 and Luke 2:1-12. One way I connect with the text is to pick various characters and try to put myself in their shoes and experience the story from their perspective.  One might pretend to be Joseph.  Imagine the confusion and feelings of deep betrayal when Mary shares that she is pregnant.  Explore the disbelief at her claims to be a virgin who will be giving birth to the long-awaited Messiah.  And then trying to navigate getting out of this marriage and yet not causing Mary, who you still love, to be stoned for adultery.  And realizing after God sends an angel that Mary is telling the truth.  Experience the sorrow at not believing her; the attempts at repair in this relationship that you now value again with this virtuous woman that you now want to marry wholeheartedly.  Then explore the anger at the Romans for making you take a long, hard trip with a massively pregnant Mary so you can register for even more taxes.  Then the terror of delivering baby Jesus, for there was no OBGYN to be found.  Then enjoy the surprise of Shepherds showing up to greet the Messiah.  And eventually feel the fear as you must flee with your family before King Herod’s soldiers descend on Bethlehem and massacre all the baby boys attempting to kill Jesus!  Sit back and enjoy the wonder of how God protected your family.  The Christmas story is a tapestry of strong emotions crashing into one another.  Pause and, maybe for the first time, actually feel the story of Christmas. 
     Second, consider and commit to the actual message of Christmas.  Christmas is not sentimentality, hope in our fellow man, or even generic generosity; there is a specific theological content to it.  Christmas is the story of the incarnation.  The story of God the Son, who is eternal, and part of the Holy Trinity being sent by God the Father to take on flesh and become Jesus who is both fully human and fully divine—one person, two natures.  This is a stunning descent where God the Son strips off the prerogatives of deity to live fully as a human.  He lives that way sinlessly for a little over three decades and offers his perfect life as a sacrifice to satisfy our sin debt to our Holy Creator.  He predicts and on the third day walks out of His grave to prove that He is who He says He is:  not just a teacher, leader or prophet but God Himself.  This is the message of Christmas:  despite our sin and rebellion against our Creator, God has made a way for us to be reconciled, to be part of His family.  Enjoy the eggnog.  Put up the stockings, attend the Christmas parties, but do more than enjoy the feel-good side effects of Christmas - grab ahold of the actual message.  One of the best summaries of the Christmas message is John 3:16 which says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”  As you open your gifts this Christmas, I encourage you not to leave the greatest present unwrapped—the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In the midst of the laughter, travel and parties, don’t miss the point.   Merry Christmas!
Pastor Derek Dickinson

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