A Christmas More Meaningful

This is an article I wrote for The Paper (Braselton) last year.

Have you ever seen the construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter? What a sight! A mammoth structure that houses everything from a grocery store to a place to get new tires. You can purchase your blue jeans along with your office supplies. You can buy a lamp shade and get a loaf of bread. And we flock there because it’s one-stop shopping, famous low prices, and a quick get in and get out affair. Don’t forget about the official smiley face mascot that greets you on every sign. It just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy as you spend your money.
This Christmas I have struggled. I had a friend give my wife and I some toy catalogs to look through because we were struggling with what to get our children for Christmas. So one evening we sat our oldest son down on the couch and said we are going to look through some toy catalogs. He jumped up in between us on the couch and for the next hour we combed through a wonderland of consumption. The next night we said we were going to read the Christmas story from the Bible and you would have thought that we said we were going to force him to drink soured milk – at least from the look on his face. To his credit he has changed and now has been retelling the Christmas story to us. We made a decision this year that we were not going to let Toys R Us tell us what our children need for Christmas.
Imagine yourself a shepherd. You have finished registering with the census. You are back caring for your sheep. Being away from the lights of the city you are able to catch a glimpse of the stars. You sit staring into the heavens with thoughts of family in mind. You imagine that back home your wife is snuggling your children into bed. As she lays down to sleep she whispers a prayer for “peace on earth.” In the stillness of the night you worry about your family. “What kind of world will your children find themselves in?” What kind of life will they live?” Who will they grow up to be?” “Have you raised them right?” Have you taught them the importance of life?” “Have you given them enough?” “Do they trust in God?” “Do they long for Shalom?” At that moment the silence is broken and your heart is beating out of your chest. The voice assures you “do not be afraid, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” What do you do with such a message? Do you get up at 4 a.m. to rush to Kohl’s because they are having an after Thanksgiving sale? Do you borrow credit off of your sheep and spend all that on gifts to bring to your children? And spend the rest of the year working overtime to pay off the debt that is owed! Or do you go on a search for the Christmas child. You don’t look in malls or advertisements. You don’t search for the Christ child on the internet or in magazines. Instead you go to the simplest of places. You find him wrapped in cloth not from Gap or Abercrombie and Fitch but handmade cloth. You find him in a manger and not in a decorated mansion. The beauty of the Christmas story is found in its simplicity. We are attracted by its simplicity. I believe one of the reasons we come back to it every year is because we long for that type of wonder and beauty. Remember the line from How the Grinch Stole Christmas: “And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas, “he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more!”