CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

In these last weeks of our stay in the USA we have been exposed to the celebration of two festivals that are very important in the lives of people here, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The latter of course hasn’t come in its fullness yet – Christmas day is still ten days away as I write. Nevertheless, preparations have been underway for weeks, and it’s these preparations that I would like to reflect on in this the last of the Insights I will write from America.

The month of November was dominated by the approach of the Thanksgiving event, a celebration dating back to the 17^th century commemorating the survival of the early Pilgrim settlers in New England. It occurs the fourth Thursday of November and is marked by a two day holiday, family gatherings, and traditional food.

No sooner was thanksgiving over than advertising and preparations for Christmas swung into action. Laurel wreaths appeared on doors, mailboxes were decorated with ivy and bright red ribbons, and Christmas lights festooned house fronts and created stunning designs. From the first day of December Christmas was very definitely in the air.

Of course, there’s a great deal of tradition, commercialism and sentimentality about these celebrations. The front yard of one house near us, for example, switched from gaudy Halloween figures to extravagant Christmas decorations within a week or two. It’s hard to believe that its occupants could enter whole-heartedly into both of these festivals. They are probably simply caught up in the cycle of celebrations that form so much part of life here.

But not everyone approaches Christmas in that spirit, and particularly not the church family that we have been blessed to be part of at Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Its leaders and members are well aware of the general cheapening of the Christ-event associated with Christmas, but don’t let that deter them. They don’t react negatively and try to imagine the season doesn’t exist; on the contrary, for the most part, they embrace it positively and set about to redeem it. They encourage one another to use the season constructively as a time for personal renewal and for public testimony. Let me share some of the ways this is done.

Firstly, and perhaps most formatively, the Pastor of the church preaches a series of advent sermons in the month of December. This year he is preaching four sermons on Titus 2:11-14. These are purposefully designed to lead people to think more deeply about the wonder of the grace of God in sending his Son to be the savior of the world.

Secondly, the season is heralded by a concentration on Christmas music. This is not only expressed in the selection of songs in worship, but in special musical productions. Children’s choirs ministered to the congregation in one Sunday night service, and this coming Sunday night a Christmas musical extravaganza will replace the usual worship time. It’s supposedly a wonderful event and a means of both worship and witness.

Thirdly, several families have publicly shared Christmas traditions they have developed to make the season meaningful. One family, for example, told of taking gifts to an orphanage and spending time with the children there. Another family hosts a Christmas carol party each year, and another makes a practice of lighting advent candles and of rehearsing the Christmas story that way.

Then, fourthly to cap off church-based celebrations, the campus at Briarwood is set up to create a “walk through nativity event.” At different points in the car parks temporary sets have been constructed representing different aspects of the Christmas story. Our son John will be manning one of these tonight, acting as an Old Testament prophet announcing predictions of the coming Messiah. Crowds of people, both from the church and the community, are expected to attend.

While this type of advent preparation is beyond the range of most congregations in New Zealand, and perhaps appears a bit “over the top” to those of us of a more conservative ilk, there is no doubt that for our family at least, it has been helpful. The Christians here have said in effect, “We are not going to let the world obscure the true meaning of Christmas. We are going to affirm its message and enter into the season whole-heartedly. More than that, we are going to let others see what it really means too.” And for that I can only applaud them.

And on that note I will bring these “Insights from America” to a close. While I still have a month here in the USA (in California), the three of us (Nola, John and I) will leave Birmingham on Christmas Eve. Nola and John will fly straight through to New Zealand, missing Christmas Day altogether, while I part company with them Los Angeles and head south to Escondido. There I will have a busy month preparing to speak at a conference in the latter part of January.

I trust you have found these reflections on our experiences here in the USA a blessing. We have certainly enjoyed our time here, met many new friends, deepened many existing relationships, and above all, been constantly showered with the grace of our loving God. May you experience that afresh yourselves as you remember his gift of love in Jesus this Christmas.