Skip to main content

Grinch or Gospel

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”   ~Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas is almost more familiar to people than the Nativity story found in the Gospel of Luke. This is a sad statement for me to make but, I fear that it is increasingly more true year after year. I have heard over the years many people say “I hate Christmas…well you know what I mean.” Followed quickly by; “I wish THEY would stop trying to take Christ out of Christmas.” Who are they and why are you concerned about how they are celebrating Christmas…the only person who can take Christ out of YOUR Christmas…is you!

If you were asked to define Christmas for someone who had never celebrated it, what would you tell them about this holiday?
Would you tell them first it is the most stressful time of year; shopping, baking, wrapping, planning, traveling?  Would you tell them that if you receive one more party invitation you’re going to go through the roof? In the first five words of your answer would you mention the Christ Child, the one you don’t want others to take out of YOUR holiday? When would you tell them about the birth of Christ, the Messiah, the one born to set us free? Would you start off with the Gospel and eventually get to Dr. Seuss or start off with Seuss and possibly throw the Gospel in at the end?
Would the person you’re sharing the holiday with hear from you the story of Hope that Christ brings to the world or the frustration of standing in long shopping lines? Would they get a sense of the Peace Christ brings to those who believe or a sense of anxiety over not finding the newest holiday gadget? Would they see the Joy and Love in your life from celebrating this Holy Day or the grief and sadness over being double booked every Friday night until 2011? 
When you finished sharing what Christmas is would the person listening see you more like the Grinch (at the beginning of the story) or more like the shepherds(ready to share what the angels proclaimed)?
It is my prayer, this Advent and Christmas season that we realize Christmas in fact does not come from a store but comes each time we share the story of the long awaited Christ!
As we joyously celebrate Christ’s coming to earth I hope you are able to slow down long enough from the hustle and bustle of the “holidays” to focus on the Holy Days that are upon us remembering God’s desire for humankind made real in Jesus the Christ. If you hear someone shouting “Keep Christ in Christmas!” Share with them the story again, remind them what the angels told the shepherds and “Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changing of the Seasons

"I don't like this cold..." SERIOUSLY not even two weeks ago some of the same people who are saying this were more recently saying "I can't stand this heat, I wish it was cooler." You got your wish, quit complaining!  Why is it we are never happy in the moment? It is too hot, too cold, too boring, too silly, too dry, too wet, too overwhelming, not overwhelming enough...the list continues. As I sit in my office this afternoon, reflecting on the past few week's events (funerals, Sunday school starting, children and youth activities starting, countless meetings, and moments(very few moments) of silence) I hear in the back of my mind a voice not my own reciting the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3     1  For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  2  a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;  3  a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to buil
2 comments
Read more

Is This Love?

I don't follow politics as much as I should... but I have been following, entirely second hand, what happened in North Carolina and President Obama’s statement supporting same-sex marriage and I wonder…how did we get here? I am in the midst of working on my sermon for Sunday and I don’t know where to go because I don’t know how we got here. Maybe you are asking “where is here?” Here May 11, 2012 in a society that feels like total anarchy. 236 years ago (give or take) some people who were feeling oppressed and alienated sought to make a better life where it would be understood that ALL were created equal. Of course that first claim came with underlying unspoken exceptions- ALL were created equal- except women, children, people of different skin tone, and more recently people who define and qualify love differently than others. I admittedly do not know much more than I did as a senior in high school about politics. Political Science was a classed I HAD to take in order to gra
2 comments
Read more

Update Your "To Do" List!

Do you have a daily “to do” list. This list is probably full of mundane tasks or high priority projects; it probably weighs over your head like a dreary rain cloud or maybe it is a security blanket reassuring you that you have done what needs to be done. Does your list look like this? Choose work that is in harmony with your values. Be forgiving of yourself and others Don’t take good health for granted Don’t write down anything you don’t want someone else to read Never tell anybody they can’t sing Learn three clean jokes Never deny anyone the opportunity to do something nice for you Never be too busy to meet someone new Never refuse homemade brownies Surprise an old friend with a phone call Sing in the shower If you borrow something more than twice, buy one for yourself Slow dance Compliment three people every day Look people in the eye Or does it look more like this? Make coffee Shower/get ready Make the bed Go to work Work stuff Work stuff More work stuff Gro
1 comment
Read more