Most parents of young children know how hectic Christmas can be. Christmas is busy enough for everyone, with the extra social commitments, the pressure of finding the perfect gifts (and then keeping them hidden until the right moment), the work-life reality of closing out the business year, and the challenges that can only come from bringing extended family back together with all of the individual personalities and quirks. For the parents of young children, there’s the added challenge of putting together those gifts that require assembly, wrapping gifts late into the night, and then being awakened a few hours later by kids who were too excited to sleep on Christmas morning. Frankly, it is easy for Christmas to be a joyful blur seen through exhausted eyes.
In the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, sisters Martha and Mary are hosting a dinner for Jesus in their home. Whether that event was as hectic as a Christmas celebration or not, it is clear from the story that there was plenty to keep the hosts consumed with the task of hosting, because at one point Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to get back into the kitchen to help her clean up. However, at that moment, Jesus says something to Martha that should be instructive to us this Christmas. Instead of rebuking Mary, Jesus tells Martha that the best thing to be doing at that time was spending time with him. In effect, Jesus tells Martha that the entire reason for the party was to spend time with the guest of honor, so don’t allow the busyness of hosting detract from the reason for hosting in the first place.
This is such an easy trap for any of us to fall into. The holiday of Christmas is first and foremost the holy day when we commemorate the birth of Christ. Yes, we busy ourselves with gifts, meals, traditions, and travels, but we must not forget the reason that we have this special day on our calendars. And that reason, according to the Prophet Isaiah, is: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6)
Please don’t allow this Christmas to pass without spending time with the gift that everyone needs – the gift of a savior named Jesus. There will be plenty of other things vying for your attention, calling out for your time. But on Christmas day, remember the reason for the season, a child unique in all history, the incarnate son of God, born that he might one day be the only acceptable sacrifice to cover up the multitude of sins in all of our lives. This Christmas, spend time with Christ the Savior, seeing beyond the busyness of the holiday to embrace the perfection of a truly holy day.
Peace, blessings, and Merry Christmas – Pastor Aaron