It’s been pretty interesting coming home for Christmas. Most of my family is together for the first time in a year and a half. We’ll be complete after new years, when Joyce comes home. This year, mainly this semester, has been the first time where I’ve really contemplated these big holidays that we, as believers, celebrate. And Christmas has been no exception.

I first began thinking about this when I saw a Christmas tree in the PE sanctuary at PCC. I don’t have an inherent dislike for Christmas trees, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to have it in the church. Just like I don’t think it wise to have a “Santa” come into church (which I remember from when I was little). I’ll explain why later.

Around Christmas, you’ll hear the words “Merry Christmas!” all the time. But what is there to be merry about? For most of the world (western world at least), it’s the anticipation of “joy” in unwrapping that first gift from under the tree. That is what the Christmas tree and Santa represent. And that’s what sin has tried to make this holiday all about. It’s what Satan has tried to distract us with. But let me ask a question, is this really something to be THAT happy about? Do those Christmas presents really bring that much joy? Does that joy really last? Does it even have a significant impact? Most of the time it’s something that we’ll use or play with for a little bit, and then discard or shelf. I don’t think so. I don’t think the anticipation of gifts is really worth that much hype, nor does it bring that much joy.

I watched a youtube video from the Jimmy Kimmel show, where Parents gave kids “bad gifts” and taped their reaction. It was funny for about two seconds, but by the end of it, I was really sad and disturbed. These kids were cursing out their parents or getting super upset simply because they didn’t get the gift they wanted. What!? I could talk about kids all over the world who are lucky to even be alive on Christmas, but I don’t think that’s even necessary. These kids are ignoring all the love and care their parents show them EVERY SINGLE DAY, and are getting mad about one small thing that their parents “did wrong.” RIDICULOUS!

But that’s the product of what this world has made Christmas out to be. Because of that, people are more stressed during Christmas than any other time of the year. Adults stressing about getting people the “perfect” present, while kids stress about getting what they want. And in the end, there’s not much love in the air during the season. And if there is, it’s completely dependent on someone giving you the right gift. But that’s not real love at all. And in the midst of all of this, there isn’t really that much to be happy about. So then what should we be joyful about?

Some people say this season is all about giving, not just to your friends and family, but to those less fortunate as well. Ok, I’ll sort of agree with this. But why is this season about giving? What’s so special about it that we should care more about giving? Shouldn’t we give all the time? I’ll ask again, why do we care about giving during Christmas?

Other people will say that this season is about being with family. I will also sort of agree with this one. It’s true that usually Christmas is the only time that everyone has a break and can get together. But I still don’t think it’s a big enough reason to make that big of a deal out of Christmas.

So I keep shooting down common reason’s for having a “Merry Christmas,” and some people might think me to just be a Scrooge. But from here on out, I’ll explain the reason to have a “Merry Christmas.” The answer is simply in the name. Christmas, which comes from “Christ’s Mass.” There’s a lot that can be said about that name, but I’ll leave that to people to explore more on their own. What I want to point out, is that it’s about Christ. He is the reason that we should be merry and joyful. But why?

Because Christmas is when we remember His birth! It’s when we remember how God, in humility, was born into this earth to eventually die for our sins. And beyond that, it is the remembrance of that perfect and righteous life which was lived for our sakes, so that we could be called righteous. Kind of makes sense that it’s called Mass, which was originally another name for the Eucharist or Holy Communion, which is also about remembering what Christ has done for us. And because of this, we can become sons of God. We can have eternal life. We can have the one thing in the world that will totally satisfy us and bring us joy. GOD! Everything else will fade, even our family, when we pass away.

It’s all about Christ. And whether December 25th is the actual day of His birth or not is trivial to me. It’s simply the day we choose to remember it. At this point, I want to clarify something. I don’t have a problem with giving gifts, giving to the needy, or spending time with the family. But they aren’t the reason for the season. Christ is. And we can do these things. We can give meaningful gifts to one another, which may not always be material. We can help those in need. We can spend time with our families. But these all must come from Christ. We give meaningful gifts to one another because Christ gave the most meaningful gift to us. We help the needy because Christ helped us, who were drowning in our sins. We spend time with our family, because Christ has made all believers a family in Him (eh, this one’s a little bit stretched). But in the end, the center of it all, and where it all has to go back to is Christ.

To close this out I’m gonna go back to the topic of Christmas trees in Church. I’m not forbidding Christmas trees in homes. Although, I don’t think Santa is ever really appropriate. But what the tree in a church declares to the world is that the church is no different from the rest of the world. That we are just as much about these material things as they are. That Christmas isn’t really about Christ as it should be. But that’s not how it should be. When the whole world is trying to take Christ out of Christmas, the church should be declaring it louder than before, that “CHRIST CAME TO SAVE US!” And I know that the church building isn’t really the church, but the people are. Nevertheless, how we furnish our buildings says something about us, and non-believers will notice.

So to finally end this long rant, Christmas is about Christ, and how he came to this earth to glorify God and save us. But I’m not saying this to force people to believe this. But my prayer for this Christmas is that people may enjoy the blessings of meaningful gifts, giving to the needy, and family in Christ. And above all things, and through all things, experience the joy of Christ’s love for us. And I pray that the church may declare this to all who have not heard or do not understand, so that they may understand and be released from the false joy of Christmas, and experience the true joy of Christmas which lasts eternally.