Christmas is over. It was a great Christmas this year. And with Christmas over I sat and reflected on a couple of things about this Christmas. It was different than past Christmases. Not different in a bad way, and not necessarily good, but just different. Let me explain.
Christmas started with an Associational Christmas Party in Cookson. I usually take pictures of the pastors and staff with their families. This year my Director of Missions and I thought we would not take pictures and just focus on the fellowship of the party and see if many or any missed taking the family photos. It made my life much simpler, and I enjoyed getting to visit at the party. The Christmas Parade for the City of Gore was a week and a half later. One of the Children’s Directors told me what she wanted for the float, and it was super easy to design and make. I took two pieces of ¼” plywood, painted it, cut it in a half circle, and put it on the float. Not just easy but simple.
I went to a children’s school program in Gore. It was The Charlie Brown Christmas. The kids did an amazing job. The only flaws or problems were technical ones. The kids all had their lines memorized and never missed a line. It was cute and simple.
The Sunday before Christmas we had our Christmas Candle Light Service. It was the reading of scripture verses followed by a Christmas carol. We closed the service with the lighting of the candles and left to the singing of Silent Night. So pretty and simple.
That evening we went to our Bartlesville grandkids’ Christmas program. It was the depiction of the Luke chapter two Christmas story with the kids dressed up as characters, animals or emblems in the story. Again, so cute and, well, SIMPLE!
And…for Christmas Day, the family decided that since we had some driving in from Virginia and others flying in from Hawaii, we would keep it SIMPLE. Neither of the travelers wanted to have to bring a lot of gifts, or most certainly, take a lot of gifts back home, so let’s do gift cards and small gifts. About the only complicated aspect of the day was the 19 people we had in the house and the quite elaborate meal. But, overall, SIMPLE.
Then I remembered my devotional from the Christmas Candle Light Service. I used the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. When you look at it, it is somewhat dismal and disappointing. Not the most stunning tree, and it needs some definite love. Yet it accomplished the purpose. And with a little love and acceptance you can see its purpose. And the little tree was so simple.
My point to using this tree was that it was the representation of simplicity. And when you think what Christmas is all about, you can see the simplicity. I mean, God used a young teenage girl who isn’t well known. And her fiancé, Joseph, is just as popular. Joseph didn’t even have a spectacular job. He was a carpenter. But he loved Mary, and they both loved God.
Add to this mix where Jesus was born, Bethlehem of Judea. To Bethlehem’s account, it was known as the city where King David was born. But Bethlehem was just down the road from Jerusalem, the religious center, the home of the temple of God.
Jesus was not only born in Bethlehem, a simple town, but there wasn’t even a room for Mary to have the baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph had to settle for a stable with the farm animals and use a manger, a feed trough for a crib. Swaddling cloths were used to bundle him. I don’t think you can get much simpler than that.
Yet the simplicity continues down one other avenue. The announcement of the birth of the Messiah did not come to the Priest, the Pharisees, or other religious leaders. No, the announcement came just as the announcement of Elizabeth and Zacharias having a baby. The announcement to Mary of her selection to birth the Messiah and to Joseph that he should go on and marry his betrothed Mary, came by an angel. The announcement was anything but simple. The announcement was spectacular! It was who the announcement was to. A group of shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night.
A group of shepherds. These were not the top rung of the social or economic ladder. They were looked down upon, not very trusting and they…well, they stunk. They were around sheep all day. They were not educated for the most part, and the only part of temple worship that involved them was that they supplied sheep for the sacrifices. In a word, they were simple men doing a job that was not so simple.
As I thought about all those things, I realized that maybe Christmas was supposed to be simple. We try to make Christmas and not let Christmas. HUH, you ask? We have to have the perfect tree, the perfect decorations, amazing gifts, five-star gourmet dinners, programs and pageants that are academy award worthy followed by a Christmas Service that will be remembered for years to come. But we can’t make Christmas.
Christmas just comes. We should let it come. And you can let it come by being simple. And what makes me a little sad is that it has only taken me 40 years of ministry to figure this out. But I think this Christmas may go down as the Best Christmas Ever!
Keeping it Simple, Bro. Tim
