It came without ribbons, it came without tags, it came without packages, boxes or bags…. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Suess, 1957)
Like the Grinch, many of us this year are on our own adventure of Christmas discovery. Will it come without holiday concerts or office parties? Will it come without family feasts and travel? Can it be here even without a regular church service? If Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more, what is that little bit?
As a date on the calendar, of course, Christmas will be here—Friday, December 25, whether we notice it or not, an observation that’s not as shallow as it seems. The theological reality that Christmas celebrates also exists, whether we notice or not. Christmas, known in church-talk as the Feast of the Incarnation, claims that the gap between Creator and Creation is somehow not so wide as originally made. The human life of Jesus isn’t a costume that the Creator puts on, but a cosmic reality that changes even the divine. No longer do we imagine a distant God with purposes and plans far beyond our knowing. Now those purposes and plans are here, not fully revealed, yet reality is touched by the divine purpose. God has entered our battle, and on our side.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overwhelmed it. (John 1:14)
Christmas proclaims a victory all its own. Easter: the promise of eternal life, the victory over death—that final message of Good News is certainly the peak of the Gospel story, and at the foundation of our faith. Christmas offers a victory touching the whole of life, not just its end. Light overcoming darkness means that purpose overcomes emptiness, forgiveness heals guilt, and unity overcomes estrangement, and that we serve the cause of reconciliation and peace. Which, too often, is not what we want.
In my experience, the #1 reason people leave the church is that they don’t believe in Christmas.
That’s not how they would describe it, of course. They believe in Christ and salvation. What they don’t want to do is to extend grace to that other group, whatever that group may be. I remember a woman, once the victim of a crime, who could not accept a God who would care about her attacker as well as herself. There are those who left because gays or foreigners or even Republicans were recognized somehow as God’s beloved Creation. I don’t mean to sound flippant. We have good scriptural arguments for believing that one or more of these groups is outside the Kingdom of God. Even we believers find it easier to make God in our own image, believing that our prejudices are divine opinions.
Yet as we do our best to limit God’s grace to those we are comfortable with, the message of Christmas gives us no grounds for such limitations. Darkness doesn’t overcome the light; it’s the other way around. As the light of God’s grace spreads through Creation, faith challenges us to see Christ in those other people-ever widening our circles of caring. God’s will for wholeness and reconciliation holds the promise that there will be no outsiders. The Christmas story begins with Mary’s song of praise proclaiming the upending of hierarchies and outpowering of grace that her child will bring. We celebrate the birth of a baby, yes, one who grows up to overturn the moneychangers’ tables, confound the powerful and welcome the outcasts. A baby who turns the world upside down—that’s who is in that manger.
Darkness doesn’t overcome light, it’s the other way around. Is that the way we want it, though?
Christmas is here, whether we want it or not. If we want to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, then we can do that without any ribbons or holiday concerts. So many ways to put aside the darkness, and most of them involve change—how about it? In this most unusual holiday season, why not celebrate in an unusual way. Forgiveness, generosity, overcoming prejudice, changing opinions—these are serious things, and they all free us from all sorts of things for a real celebration.
Believe in Christmas—that sounds like a fun Hallmark card, but the phrase hides a life-changing commitment Christmas believers follow the expanding light of Christ into the future, watching and rejoicing as it overcomes the darkness of the Way Things Have Always Been and Always Will Be. Christmas changes everything. In Christ, the doors to God’s love are flung open and all are invited to the party. Let’s join that fun.