Real Christmas Better Than Any Movie

In December of 1914 in the first bitter winter of a long bitter war, the solders of the German Empire and the soldiers of the British Empire defied the orders of their officers. They abandoned their hastily dug entrenchments that would soon grow into an elaborate maze of trenches stretching from Switzerland to the English Channel to meet each other in no man’s land. They sang hymns and exchanged gifts in a spontaneous outpouring of the feelings of peace, fellowship, and forgiveness which were then the staples of a Christ centered Christmas season. In the midst of the War to End War these enemies found peace in the love of their Savior. Can we at least hope that in the midst of what feels like a terminally divided America if we would take His hand, if we would follow Him maybe we could do the same? The season for which He is the reason is upon us so let us reflect:

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If you drench yourself in the torrent of Christmas movies that bombard us from Thanksgiving till December 25th you see that the spirit of Christmas in emotional America isn’t about the Christ child who came into a lost world to die as a payment for sin and to rise again to bring new life in harmony with God. It is instead about the sentimental ideal of love and the boy gets the girl or is it the girl gets the boy? Who knows sometimes they throw in a curve that really builds the suspense. There are movies about Santa Clause, his sons, his daughters; his elves and wingless angels all of whom help people learn the true meaning of Christmas which is never about Christ and always about family and friends and being nice people. In our highly commercialized America Christmas is about Black Friday that starts on Thursday then goes for a week and discounts so deep they remind me of the street vendor in Mexico who follows you shouting “I’ll give you 110% off if you buy two!” The Chia Pets come out along with snuggies, pet rocks, and every other doodad imaginable to buy for people who already have too much. The mountains of presents which obscenely bury Christmas trees in so many American homes are ripped apart by sugar-high children. Children who get into a frenzy of getting so intense they never have time to appreciate what they get. All they want is to get something else. The beautiful wrapping paper, the miles of ribbon, and the forests of bows are stuffed the next day unceremoniously into big green garbage bags on their way to landfills. We hear and see the refrain, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” from those who try to stand against the tide. If we do or say anything to question the Madison Avenue, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, tinsel, twinkling lights, Santas on the roof, and do reindeers really know how to fly presentation of a holiday on steroids we are accused of being a Grinch. The following sums up the tension between Christmas and Xmas for me:

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Shortly after I gave my life to Jesus I was moving to another part of the country and I decided to spend my last Christmas with relatives in the old home place. When I walked in the door I was greeted by a small committee who knew of my new found devotion with the command, “Don’t ruin Christmas with a bunch of Jesus.” Sometimes the words of others can express our own feelings as well or better than we can do ourselves. For me personally of all the contemporary Christian artists which help make my life livable 'Casting Crowns' most closely expresses my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. And although this isn’t technically a Christmas song it gives voice to the faith that for me truly makes Jesus the reason for the season:

Jesus, Friend of Sinners

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours Yeah

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Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand Make the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees No one knows what we're for only against when we judge the wounded What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet 'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours And I was the lost 'cause and I was the outcast Yeah You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

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To make sense of His birth we must look also to His death, His resurrection, and to the fact the He will come again. Or as Casting Crowns puts it in the remake of a classic:

Living, He loved me Dying, He saved me Buried, He carried my sins far away Rising, He justified freely forever One day He's coming Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

So from me to you: Merry Christmas…oh glorious day indeed.

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