I sit here at breakfast....

I am sitting in a local restaurant having breakfast...

As I sit, I realize that this day is much like the days of old.  People are coming and going, doing business and saying hi.  Food is being eaten and bills are being paid.  A wave here and a place to be in a few minutes.  Nothing much different than 2,000 years ago.

Another realization came to mind.  It is the reason I started typing this post.  about 2,000 years ago today, Jesus is about to arrive.  The census is underway and everyone is headed to their home town to make sure the Roman government has their tax books in line.  But while all the hubbub is going on, a baby is born.  Not just any baby, but a baby that would mark history and make it different.  Better.

And so, here I sit, watching what many would call "life".  And it is not much different, maybe much the same.  People all around are talking about Christmas, yet it's not Christmas they are really talking about.  It's gifts, dinners, parties and shopping.  They are not trying to miss the message, it's just so easy to pass it over in the hustle and bustle.

A few tables from me sit a group of older men.  Curse words and coarse joking fill the air around them, and in the middle of their morning fellowship comes this phrase, "Merry Christmas".

I  hope, more than anything, that those men understand what they've said.  "Merry", happy, what a wonderful blessing to speak to someone.  "Christmas", not just a season, but a celebration.  Man's greatest need is met by God's greatest gift.

We really aren't any different, it's all around us and we look over it. 

Lord, please forgive us and for a moment, allow the Spirit of Christmas, the child born to die, to clearly come into focus so we will know the wonder of your grace this holiday.  Amen.

One of the best Christmas song ever....

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas song, and this has to be one of the best versions of it...  Enjoy!

You're History....

An open letter…

I can’t help but think about certain things this time of year.

Things like turkey, presents and family.  There are many thoughts that pass through my three and a half pound nerve center as the air becomes cold and the colors of the leaves change dramatically.

One thought is “why celebrate?”  I am not attempting to be negative or critical, only wishing to stop for a moment and apply reason to a sentimental time of year.  I do not see this as counterproductive but, instead, valuable to enriching the experience of these wonderful holidays.

Why do we celebrate these holidays this time of year?  I think for most, it is a tradition.  It has meaning in the gathering of those we love and the giving of part of ourselves.  I’m not sure how many of us can actually relate to this.  But there is not one of us who do not see the great traditions of this time of year as enjoyable or meaningful.  Which takes me back to the question, “why celebrate?” I mean, really, why does this time of year have meaning?

A few of you are already jumping to the answer.  Please give me a few more minutes and I hope we arrive at the same destination. 

As with most of our holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas are steeped in historic meaning.  They are not just a date on the calendar.  As a matter of fact, although we set aside a date to commemorate them, the date may not be the same as the original event.  It need not be for the celebration to have meaning.  A day is a day.  But, when that day is steeped in a momentous event, it becomes significant.  Which takes me back to the original question, “why celebrate?” Just why does this time of year have significance?

It’s simple.  Because of history.  Without the history behind the holiday there would not be a holiday.  In elementary school I was taught that the pilgrims arrived in the new land we now call the United States.  To celebrate that pivotal moment, they had a feast.  We now call it Thanksgiving that turkey filled holiday we celebrated just a few weeks back.

It is the same for Christmas, except this is where it gets tricky.  For some reason we have tried to denounce and undermine the idea that Christmas is about “Christ”, in spite of the name.  It is not some holiday made up by a fat guy with a bunch of elves making toys in a subzero climate on the far ends of our planet.  Why is it so hard to just say it?  To say it doesn’t mean you hold to everything that has to do with the historic background of the event.  Have some courage; admit it is about a child in a manger.  His arrival is the reason for the celebration.  Let’s say it out loud.  No Christ, no Christmas.  Again, you don’t have to agree with the historical purpose of the person to admit their life actually existed. 

Christmas is a holiday based around the birth of a child whose life was so significant that we have celebrated it ever since.  Don’t like the idea?  Well let me suggest it may be because of the miscommunication of some of the Christ Child’s followers.  Don’t let them get in your way.  Since it is a reality, and Christmas is about this historic event, take some time this holiday to ask yourself the question “what do you think of Christmas?”  Or even return to my initial thought, “why celebrate?”  Keep from falling back on answers that deny the Christ Child.  Try to take time and understand that the entire idea behind gift giving and cheer is due to the greatest gift, Jesus Christ.

Oh and by the way, this is only the first holiday that celebrates the babe in a manger.  The other is in the spring and focuses on that same child, about thirty-three years later, on a cross that stood atop a hill. 

Before my final words, let me take away a concern some of my friends have had but I have no fuss over, I don’t freak out over Santa or the Easter Bunny.  They may be add ons others worry about, but again, without the history, no need for add ons.

Let’s finish where we started.  “Why celebrate?”.  This letter is my open invitation: come closer.  Discover the historic reason for the holidays.  He may just change your answer.  He may just change your life.