“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"
(Matthew 25:34-40)
Let me preface what I'm about to say by saying this first: I love Christmas. I love the sparkle and magic and general goodwill that comes with this special season. I love the food and the music and the lights and the festive atmosphere. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
But something in me has changed over the years, and I don't see Christmas the way I used to. I no longer decorate my house or put up a Christmas tree. I don't exchange presents with family and friends like I used to. To me, Christmas has taken on a new meaning. Chalk it up to growing older, or wiser, or perhaps a little of both.
Don't think that I look down on those who are fully engaged in all of the flurry and hustle and bustle of Christmas. Decorate your houses. Deck your halls and trim your trees. Eat festive foods and worry about your diets next month. Buy presents for everyone on your list. Sing Jingle Bells at the top of your lungs. May your wassail and your eggnog both be blessed.
But let's stop pretending like these festive traditions have anything to do with celebrating the birth of Christ, God's greatest gift to humanity.
I don't know a lot about birthday traditions in other cultures around the world, but in our culture, when you have a birthday, people give you gifts, and for one day out of the year, it's all about you. So if Christmas really is all about celebrating the birthday of Jesus, why do we give gifts to everyone except Him? I see lots of people posting on facebook what they got for Christmas. If Jesus had a facebook page, I wonder what presents He would talk about receiving.
Some may say, "We give each other gifts as symbols of the gift God gave us in Jesus." Really? Why not just give them directly to Him instead? "How do we give gifts to Jesus? What could He possibly want or need?" It's quite simple, really. After all, He left us with a wish list in Matthew 25. He said that when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome strangers and visit the sick and lonely, we do these things for Him and to Him. The greatest gifts we can give at Christmas (or any time for that matter), are to those who cannot possibly ever return the favor. It seems as much of the gift giving during the holidays is done so out of obligation. "So-and-so gave me something, so now I need to give something back." Or, "I don't want to forget anyone or they will be offended and hurt." Sure, a gift can be given out of love, but I didn't see a lot of love swelling up in the faces of the shoppers yesterday frantically buying the last of the gifts on their lists.
I stopped giving Christmas gifts to friends and family members. Instead, I show them my love and appreciation throughout the year, on their birthdays or for no special reason. But I make Christmas all about Jesus. The Christmas gifts I now give go to impoverished families in Africa and homeless teens down the street. To people who are struggling just to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. People who don't know my name or have any way of thanking me. I get more satisfaction doing this than I ever got out of picking out that "perfect gift" for someone I know. After all, how many of you can remember what you got for Christmas last year, or the year before? Most of the gifts we give are really meaningless tokens that get lost in the shuffle of our over-abundance. But give an African family a goat that will provide nourishment and income for many years, and they will always remember that gift. Or put a new pair of shoes on the feet of a homeless kid who's been kicked out of the house and feels abandoned by family and church because of who they are, and they will always remember that moment on Christmas morning, when someone actually cared enough to give them the exact size and style they always dreamed of having, but never thought was possible.
I'm not writing all of this to make anyone feel guilty about the way you celebrate Christmas, or do I expect that the commercialism of the season will change in my lifetime. But maybe, just maybe, something I said today might get someone to think about Christmas just a little bit differently next year.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Pastor David
