The celebration of Christmas is filled with all types of questions. Every element of our journey through the holidays is open to investigation. We ask questions such as: “Do we put up a real tree or a fake tree?” “What Christmas movie should be watched?” or “When are presents opened?”
As Christians, we also ask more faith-based questions, such as “What church celebration should I attend?” or “Where should I display the nativity scene?”
As good as these questions may be, however, these questions have more to do with the Christmas season than the Christmas message. These questions are about how we observe the holidays and prepare for our gatherings.
Unfortunately, this means that as the Christmas season passes, reflected in the turning of the calendar page, our interaction with Christmas fades into the background. Our lives return to routine and the regular. Once the season of Christmas ends, so do our interactions with it.
The Christmas proclamation, however, is not bound to a particular season of life. The angelic declaration burst the boundaries of the regular and routine. Life has been transformed!
The Christmas gospel declares that we are surrounded by the extraordinary, the miraculous, the divine. In Christ, God has “moved into our neighborhood” (John 1:14, The Message). This is not merely a story we rehearse, it is a reality we participate in; a reality that must change us.
The Lord comes to us, and we are invited to receive him in a new way. If we wish to embrace him, and the transformative nature of the Christmas message, we must ask ourselves a different set of questions, a deeper set of questions. Below are three important questions to ask as we celebrate Christmas.
1. Who Are You?
This probably seems like an odd question to ask ourselves. At first glance, our personalities and temperaments may appear irrelevant to our participation in the Christmas celebration.
What does our identity have to do with Christ’s birth anyway? In fact, our identities have everything to do with how we engage with Christmas.
The question of our identities is about who we are before God. It speaks to how we see ourselves in light of God’s presence and activity. Knowing our deepest selves, therefore, informs how we approach the Christmas message.
When you think about the Christmas story, whom do you identify with? After all, the Christmas gospel (Luke 2:1-20) presents many different types of people, all of whom interact with the Christmas message differently. The contemplative Mary responds differently than the fearful shepherds.
Are you like Mary, quietly faithful, a stalwart in devotion? Do you treasure everything in your heart? Or are you like Joseph, a bit more hesitant in the matters of devotion? Do you need a word of assurance before you leap head-on into the faith?
Are you like the shepherds, someone who feels cut off from God? Do you feel rejected or abandoned, pushed away from the faithfully strong and put-together? Is there a feeling that you just aren’t good enough to warrant God’s acceptance or love?
Our identity is more than just a point of self-perception. Who we see ourselves to be influences how we respond to the things of life. All of us have battles and struggles that are unique to our identities.
Furthermore, who we see ourselves to be will undoubtedly influence how we respond to the message of Christ’s birth. This makes the knowledge of the self deeply important for our spiritual lives.
2. What Is the Message?
Acknowledging our identities allows us to hear the fullness of the Christmas message. Jesus is the incarnation of God in human life. With the birth of Jesus, God comes to us in the uniqueness of our lives and circumstances.
The angels sing: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people, today a savior has been born to you” (Luke 2:10-11). The angels do not merely announce the birth of a baby; this is no mere declaration of useful information.
Rather, the birth of the savior has personal significance for all people. The angels announce that the savior has been born “to you.” This message is proclaimed to the uniqueness and particularity of our lives.
Jesus comes to you. This is true regardless of whatever you face. In spite of the ups of life, amidst whatever insecurities or anxieties you face, Jesus is the expression of God’s love for you. This truth cannot be discounted by anything in this life.
Psalm 98:3 puts it this way: “the Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to all nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to his people.” The birth of Jesus declares beyond doubt or contradiction, that you are loved by God.
Not only is Jesus the expression of God’s steadfast love, but Jesus shows God’s faithfulness. God is true to you. God is unmovable, always beside you, always journeying with you, always taking up your cause. The presence of Jesus is the divine manifestation of this truth.
The celebration of Christmas isn’t just about remembering something that occurred centuries ago, it is about reminding ourselves of what is fundamentally true of our lives. That truth is simple: Jesus, our Savior, is with us.
3. How Will I Respond?
The birth of Jesus demands a response. After the angels depart, the shepherds say to one another “Let us go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has happened, that the Lord has told us about” (Luke 2:15). The message of God’s love and faithfulness was simply too good to pass up; they had to respond.
What is more, being in the presence of the Christ-child transforms them. The knowledge that the Savior has been born in flesh and blood is so transformative that the shepherds leave the manger glorifying and praising God. They are forever changed by the love and faithfulness of God.
The truth of Christmas transforms the very foundation of our lives because it is a truth that extends past the Christmas season. Jesus is our Savior every single day of our lives, no matter who we are or what we face. We are, therefore, invited to experience this reality in a personal way.
How might you respond to the birth of Jesus? What will it mean for you to receive Jesus anew? How will you recognize that God has stepped into your own life and history?
What will it mean for you to acknowledge that you are so radically loved by God that God steps into your life? These are some of the most important questions we can ask ourselves this Christmas.
The Christmas message is far too good and extraordinary to be left on the sidelines of our lives. The angelic pronouncement demands a response, a personal investment. As Christian people, we are called to open our lives to the one who comes to us.
True, we may not encounter the host of heaven singing in the night sky. Still, in some way, the message is declared: To you, Jesus has come. To you, a savior is born. To you, God is present. Come, let us adore him.
For further reading:
What Can Christmas Tell Us about God’s Glory?
How Do We Inwardly Prepare for Christmas?
What Does it Mean to Have a Shepherd’s Heart at Christmas?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Bogdan Kurylo
