What Christmas Isn’t—What Christmas Is

Merry Almost-Christmas, My Friend!

Are you a watcher of the infamous Hallmark Christmas movies? (Raising my hand.) What’s funny is I usually do not like predictable stories, whether in books or movies. But I do like to watch Hallmark Christmas movies even though we all know exactly what the plot is and how it will end. The girl goes to the small town for some big exploitative work project. She meets the hometown hunk who loves his small-town life. Of course, she is engaged to a jerk back in the city who shows up and snubs the hometown guy. Puppies or kitties are usually involved, maybe royalty from a made-up country. There’s lots of hot cocoa being sipped and carols being sung. In the end, hometown hunk wins over big city girl. My granddaughter, Olive, loves to sit with me to watch these movies as we try to predict what the following line will be at any given moment, and she’s pretty impressed with my uncanny ability to know what everyone will say next. Dang it! I should have been a writer for Hallmark. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

As I was picking up some necessities the other day from Walgreens, you know, more Christmas candy and one more roll of wrapping paper, I came across a box of Christmas cards. Again, Hallmark. These words were written in pretty gold script on the front:

“Every time a hand reaches out to help . . . that is Christmas.

Every time a person chooses peace . . . that is Christmas.

Every time we forget our differences and remember the love that connects us . . .

  . . that is Christmas.”

Can I just say this?—Hallmark, I politely disagree.

Oh yeah, those are beautiful words . . . and pleasant thoughts. But is that what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown? Helping people? Choosing peace? Forgetting our differences? Those are all great things, don’t get me wrong. But are we forgetting why there even is a Christmas?

Here’s my nutshell version of the why . . .

God existed before anything. He either waved His hands or spoke everything into existence. Ah, but for humans! For those, He fashioned some dirt and then used His own breath to give him life. And, wow! It was all so good! Those first people got to be with God! Live with Him! Walk around in the garden with Him! It was perfect! Until those first people decided they thought they knew better. They messed up, and there went perfection—right out of the Garden of Eden window! No longer could God live with them. Life on Earth got hard. People behaved worse. Finally, God decided enough was enough; He wanted to save us from ourselves.

Jesus, who’d been with Him all along, was needed on Earth in human form. It was the only way to make a Way for us to be able to be with God again someday. Our sin—there, I said it, that old-fashioned word that no one wants to hear—needed to be atoned for. Jesus was the answer to that sin problem. His whole purpose in coming to live with us was to turn us to His Father and to offer to take our garbagy sins on Himself. He offers that to every. single. person on Earth. He loves every single person on Earth that much.

God could have sent Jesus to us as a knight in shining armor—or a TikTok sensation. But He chose to send Him to us as a newborn baby to grow up with us and experience all the stuff humans do. What better way to know how we feel when our bodies hurt. How we feel grief over losing someone we love. How we feel hungry and don’t have food. What it’s like to be scorned by a particular group of people.

I know that’s way too much to put on the front of a Christmas card. But I feel bad that we’ve made Christmas about other “good” and “nice” things and not one bit about Jesus. I’m struggling not to write, “Jesus IS the reason for the season” here, though it fits perfectly!

Perhaps the best explainer of the meaning of Christmas came through the voice of Linus of Charlie Brown fame. Voice of Linus, written down by Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit. You’ve probably seen it, like me, a jillion times. Watch it here.

I wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope that despite whatever circumstances you may find yourself in, you can pause and be grateful for how much God loves you. That is why there is Christmas.

I’ll be taking the next two weeks off from writing to you. I’ll write again on January 9, 2024!

Written with love – – – Patti XOXO

PS – – Happy one-year birthday to my website! Thanks for saying, “Come on, Morning!” with me this year!

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son.

And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed;

by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger,

telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” 

John 3:16-17

The Message