Before I say anything else, I love Christmas. Not in a 'let's be an raving fool for a month' way; more a 'having some time off and focusing on what's important' kind of way. However, I find there are a number things that just gets me with each Christmastime.
Why do the cynics always have the same things to say each year? Do I need to be told, each year, that Christmas (meaning Advent) starts too soon? Do I need to be reminded that kids supposedly get too much? Do I need anyone to tell me that we have missed the true meaning of Christmas (which only some people perceive as the birth of Jesus)? I find such statements, with its hopelessness and inactivity, of no help at any time of year.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, the whole 'true meaning of Christmas'. I wish some preachers in some churches understood that telling people that how non-churchgoers way of doing Christmas is wrong, and that a frugal celebration is more appropriate for the baby Jesus, is an unfortunate own goal. Helping people to understand what it is they are celebrating, and making it worth celebrating, can be the greatest gift anyone could receive any time of year. I went to a carol service, led by suburbschurch.com, at New Room Chapel in central Bristol, was a mix of the secular and the sacred; it is when we read and reflect on Jesus story that we see that this is what He had intended.
Season greetings to you all!
