The Aftermath of Christmas
Colossians 3:12-17 Philippians 4:4-7
PAUMC 12/30/07
It was just a few days before Christmas. Two men who were next door neighbors decided to go sailing while their wives went Christmas shopping. Obviously this did not take place in Minnesota. While they were out sailing, a storm came up. The waters became very rough and the men had a difficult time keeping the boat under control. As they maneuvered their way towards land they hit a sandbar and grounded the boat. Both men jumped overboard and began to push and shove with all their might, trying to get the boat out into deeper water.
Then one man, with his feet almost knee deep in mud, and the waves bouncing him against the side of the boat, and hair blowing wildly in the wind, looked up and said, “It sure beats Christmas shopping, doesn’t it?”
Now that Christmas is over, we can laugh at this. The chaos of Christmas is over. All of those shopping trips of trying to find just the perfect gift, running back and forth to every shopping center available and still not finding it; getting decorations up, going to parties, giving parties, writing Christmas cards – and on top of all that doing everything else we normally do in our daily routines, gets pretty overwhelming!
No wonder we’re exhausted. And this season which is supposed to foster peace and goodwill in our hearts leaves us irritable, depressed and cranky. There’s a story of a little girl whose family got so out of sorts over Christmas preparations that when she prayed the Lord’s prayer she said, “Forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.”
Psychologists say that depression, increased irritability and anxiety are normal occurrences during the Christmas season due to the increased stress of trying to keep up with all of the holiday activities. Now all of this is over and we can forget about it until next year. But let’s not forget things too quickly. Maybe now is the best time to reflect on the meaning of this season and gain deeper insight – now when Christmas is over and we’re in a more relaxed and less exhausted frame of mind.
Our scripture passages, although not traditional Christmas scriptures, shed some light on the meaning of Christmas in our lives.
“Have no anxiety about anything.” “Be not anxious.” – Easier said than done. There seems to be a frantic energy that characterizes our pre-Christmas activities. And the holiday season in the stores seems to begin earlier and earlier each year. I remember back when Christmas items weren’t put out into the stores until the day after Thanksgiving. Things have changed. It’s as if our secular culture is trying to hang on as long as possible to this season that heralds “Peace on earth, goodwill to all.” So into the darkness of this world our society introduces its artificial lights and tinsel as soon as possible. If we can program these holiday festivals maybe we can program the peace on earth and goodwill that is promised, just like we try to program happiness into our lives.
So this mad, frenzied anxiety producing season of activities that we get trapped into each year is simply a reflection of a deeper anxiety shared by all in our society, Christian or non-Christian – that anxiety over the lack of peace and harmony in our world and in our personal lives. And the Christmas season, year after year, becomes a mad crazed attempt to usher in peace and harmony and goodwill by sheer human force. The idea that if we all just try a little harder to keep Christmas 365 days of the year, things might turn out all right after all, seems to be the message of the season. This statement has an element of truth to it but is overly optimistic of human behavior. And trying to do these things by sheer human effort most often brings failure and more anxiety.
In Colossians we have a list of Christian behaviors that we are to have – compassion, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness and love – and if we work at them and try to force them into our lives the way society tries to force ‘peace and goodwill,” we will find ourselves frustrated and anxious.
But God’s word is this: You do not have to self-produce hope or human goodness, nor can you do so. Joy will come to you as a gift, not an achievement. And it comes. So do not be anxious. After all, it is God’s busyness, not our own, that makes all the difference in our world and in our lives.
So relax. Now is the time to let God’s power work in your life. God says we are beloved, holy, chosen ones. This is God’s doing, not ours, open to all who will receive it. If we stop, relax, open ourselves to God’s changing power, we will be clothed with the characteristics that mark God’s presence in this world. The Apostle Paul says it best:
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience….forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you…and above all things put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful.”
When we begin to take seriously that we are 'chosen, holy, and loved' by God, then we begin to value ourselves and we can live out of this love.
Out of an ongoing relationship with the God who is generous and active in love, we can allow ourselves be drawn into the same mode of being. Connecting to God is connecting to freedom. Connecting to such freedom opens to us the possibility of love.
As these things mark our lives, the world will begin to experience true peace on earth. And in the busyness of our lives, especially at Christmas, God’s peace will invade us. This is what the world works so hard for, especially at Christmas. But it is God who can really bring peace to this world and to our lives.
Let us open ourselves up to receive this gift.