The Unholy of Christmas

Hello Emmanuel,

Thus begins a holy week… in an unholy church?

In a world where there is so much wrong, how can there be so much right?  The 53rd Hallmark Christmas movie was shown the other day (or approximately that many).  I didn’t watch them all (only about 1/3 of 1), but I didn’t see too much about Christmas.  I did see a lot of conflict and googly eyes and misunderstandings and flirting and ‘I thought we had something!!!’ … to … ‘oh… we do have something’ (and then more kissing).

I pick on these movies because it is a microcosm of a bigger picture.  There is so much wrong and yet so much right.  It’s confusing, which is why I usually walk into another room to read a book (that has conflict and misunderstandings, but no googly eyes or kissing… bluk).

This brings me to why I love the Church during such a holy week.  For one hour there is a bubble created around the worshipping community.  In this bubble we are invited to stop everything we are doing and focus on one event that affected the world for all-time.  We get to forget our mistakes and personality flaws.  We can forget who we don’t like and who we do like.  We get to forget about presents and traffic and lights that don’t work and whether it is too cold or too warm for December and movies that are sort of about Christmas, but not really.  Life gets to pause for about an hour so that we can focus on the one event that affected the world for all-time without the drama or flair or need for entertainment.  For about an hour, everything is about Christmas in its purest sense.

We get to focus on the Holy even as we live among the unholy.

We don’t have to pretend that we are better than we are (though sometimes thinking we need to becomes a great distraction).  We don’t have to smile (especially when the lights are turned down low to sing Silent Night).  We don’t have to feel guilty because we haven’t been in church for 8 months.  We don’t have to look down our noses because we’ve been in church the last 51 Sundays.

Why?  Because no matter who we think we are, all of us are just as unholy compared to the one event that affected the world for all-time.  And THAT is why I love the Church.  God’s love for us permeates any miniscule differences between each of our rights and wrongs.  The holiness of Christmas makes us all look bad and then turns around and says it okay.  The holiness of Christmas comes quietly in the night in a barn so that the coziness we feel in the sanctuary isn’t just for show, but has a legitimate place in our relationship with God.

I look forward to worshipping with you this week.  Why?  Because experiencing the Holy with all of us unholy people helps me experience again the redemptive power of an ever-loving God.  And it brings me joy.

I hope it brings you joy too. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Dec. 22^nd, 7:00 – Blue Christmas (for those feeling sad this season)

Dec. 24^th, 7:00 – Kid-Friendly Christmas Eve with candlelight

Dec. 24^th, 10:00 – Traditional Candle-light

Dec. 27^th, 9:00 and 10:30 – The First Sunday of Christmas

Jan. 3^rd, 9:00 and 10:30 – The Second Sunday of Christmas