Dear Members and Friends,
Over the last 25 years, one of the saddest and most startling
things I’ve ever heard is the statement uttered in bitter resignation,
“I hate Christmas.” What makes this all the more surprising and
alarming is the fact that this remark has come to my ears exclusively
from the mouths of Christians, not from those outside the faith.
Delving more deeply into this unexpectedly negative sentiment,
one finds that while Jesus is universally loved, it is all the
rigmarole surrounding December 25th that some folks have come
to loathe. Nowadays, the retail industry starts to gear up for
the Yuletide season even before Thanksgiving, and in many families
the expectations run so high that it’s easy to see why anguish
might begin to supplant emotions of great joy.
If in your own heart the approach of Christmas is starting to
spark more grief than gladness, now is the time to stop and consider
the cause. Is it because your home does not appear to bear pristine
resemblance those portrayed in commercials or greeting cards?
Perhaps it is the anxiety of not being able to afford the things
for which the media engenders a widespread and hysterical demand.
Or maybe it is because you or your family are going through personal
difficulties that seem to be so far apart from the fantasized
notions of what Our Lord’s birth is supposed to be all about.
Regardless of the underlying reasons, it is informative and often
helpful for us to realize that the biblical accounts of Bethlehem
are as much disquieting as they are soothing. In Matthew and in
Luke, the coming of the Messiah involves as much doubt, fear and
uncertainty, as faith, joy and peace. In fact, for Mary and Joseph,
as they were denied access to proper accommodation, and then had
to flee from King Herod, the birth of their Son, while blessed,
was far from perfect. Looking from almost any vantage point, we
do well to consider that the Savior Who came to save a broken
world, did not encounter one adorned with tinsel and garland,
but wood and straw.
Sometimes, it isn’t easy to find the Christ-child within a culture
that appraises His arrival in terms of shopping days and retail
sales. Should this be the case, it is time for us to take control
and take our Christmas back! Instead of being an extravaganza
of the open wallet, let us allow it to become a renewed experience
of an open heart.
Searching for a Presence over the presents, may all of us be
relieved of the incessant pressure that often attends this holiday,
knowing that the real gift of the season isn’t in creating a perfect
celebration, but in finding a perfect Savior. Thus may our sense
of inner trepidation yield to the awareness of an enduring tranquility,
knowing that human imperfection will never keep the Lord away.
Indeed, it is why He came.
Godspeed,
From Reverend
William J. Keane,
Senior Minister of First Baptist Church of Branford
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