First Wednesday of Advent
Originally posted Monday, December 9, 2013
Ever wonder what would happen if we could stuff Christmas back in a box? Ever wonder if it’s even possible?
I ask this after a woman I’ve come to know in recent weeks told us that when she was a child in Holland, Christmas was observed in church only and wasn’t the all-encompassing cultural event that it is today in the United States.
That got me to thinking: What would it take to put Christmas back in the religious box where it belongs. Because as it is now, the real meaning of Christmas has been lost in the bustle of the commercial event. Even those of us who observe Advent in our churches get pulled into the shopping and baking and general cacophony of the season, and all of that easily outweighs the birth of Christ.
On TV the commercials for cars and jewelry and dolls and video games are spangled with Christmas lights and glitter, but they’re latching on to the vague, generic “spirit” of Christmas and not saying anything about the Messiah. And the Hallmark Channel is wall-to-wall with Christmas movies about miracles and family reconciliations and just-in-time organ transplants that don’t say a word about Christ. And why is it that all our worst issues and our most amazing reconciliations happen at Christmas?
Meanwhile, the religious zealots moan about how political correctness has banned Christmas from the schools and the courthouse lawn. But instead of a negative, what if we looked at that as a positive? As long as Christmas is being swept aside by the popular culture, why not take the opportunity to gather it up and return it to the church where it belongs?
I wonder if by diminishing Christmas to just a religious observance, we would actually enlarge it and make it more meaningful.
This may be where we are headed as a society, but it could take generations if we just let it happen on its own. So what can we do to speed the demise of the commercial Christmas as we know it? Tap the breaks on over-the-top spending? Refuse the temptation of Black Friday? Limit our outdoor decorations to significant, tasteful symbols? Better yet, what should we do to emphasize and illuminate the baby of the manger?