After Christmas
Introduction
Today is the day after Christmas. Many of us are tired. It has been a long week of celebration, food, fun, family, and gift exchanges. We have watched our favorite Christmas movies, attended worship services focused on Christmas, been to plays and concerts, and... There have also been difficult moments as we have missed loved ones who have departed or thought about those who are sick. Others have faced sickness during this time. Christmas has come and it's almost gone. Oh, we still have a play to do and our decorations are still up and we hope that the spirit of Christmas will linger, but what do we do after Christmas?
One writer suggested these "Top Ten Things to Do the Day After Christmas" (https://cuchimes.com/12/2018/day-after-christmas/):
1. Sleep In (I'm glad you chose to make it to church this morning ;-)
2. Isolate Yourself from Family ( For introverts, this is an important one after all the emotional energy they have expended over the past week)
3. Clean Up Clutter (Can I get an "Amen!")
4. Spend Some Quality Time With Your Gifts
5. Plan A Mall Trip. Tiara Rea-Palmer, head of retail relations for Couponfollow.com said: “The single best day to shop after Christmas is December 26, hands down. There will be huge sales on Christmas trees, decor, holiday gifts, and lights, but you can also score some post-Christmas discounts on items not related to the holidays.” (see https://www.themoneymanual.com/what-is-the-best-shopping-day-after-christmas/)
6. Eat Leftovers (YES!)
7. Take a Nap (Preferably 3 Hours)
8. Scroll Through Social Media
9. Get Some New Years Plans Together
10. Begin the 364 Day Wait till Next Christmas
Christmas is that season on the Christian calendar when we remember what C. S. Lewis called “the central event in the history of the Earth.” This greatest of all miracles — the incarnation witnessed the one who is immortal taking on human flesh and embracing mortality. In a paradox for the ages; we celebrate His birth, but not His beginning. Lewis noted that “every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.” (https://www.standardspeaker.com/the-christmas-pause/article_02d67af8-6eed-5279-84d0-0653489b9420.html)
Galatians 4:1-7 NKJV reads:
1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
In this text, the apostle Paul is speaking of life before and after the coming of Christ, Christmas. He tells us what we are because of Christmas and how we ought to behave After Christmas.
When we read the two accounts of the Nativity they also have insights into what we should do After Christmas.
The Coming of Christ:
Paul speaks of those before the coming of Christ as being like infants who had to be kept in check by the law of Moses.
He concludes that we were in "bondage to the elements of the world" as all of humanity was.
But God had a plan to break into human history at just the right time, and He did. The Son of God came into the world, born of a woman, and subject to the law.
He came to redeem those who were under the law, a law that could only keep humanity in the place of slaves.
He came to be a Son, in order that we could also be adopted into that sonship.
The evidence of that sonship is the Gift of the SPIRIT!
Because Christ has come we are now full heirs together with Him!
Christmas means we are no longer in bondage to the law or sin! We are free! And all of Heaven's resources are now ours. We can live a life that breaks the cycle of generations of sin, sickness, and addiction!
Because of the coming Christ, you do not have to be bound by sin! His Gracious Gift is enough to set you completely free and give you a permanent spot at the table of the King as a son!
We share the collective identity of JESUS CHRIST! We are baptized into Him and filled with His SPIRIT!
Christmas is something to get excited about! He came to go to the cross via the manger!
There were different groups of people who first saw the Baby JESUS shortly after His birth. We see them depicted in our Nativity scenes and they have much to teach us about how we ought to behave After Christmas. They teach us that:
1. Let Others Know
Luke 2:17-20 ESV
17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The shepherds could not keep it in. They had witnessed the glory of God. The Light of God shining from the heavens; and they had seen the Light of God concentrated into the frail form of a Human Child, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a feeding trough!
It was too good not to tell!
Robert Fulghum tells about attending a conference in Greece where he heard a powerful lecturer. Everybody was thrilled about what the lecturer had said. Toward the end of the lecture, the speaker asked, “Are there any questions?” There was just awestruck silence. Nobody said word. It was one of those special moments when words failed. But Fulghum, always the jokester, said, “I’ve got a question! In the five minutes we have left, tell us the meaning of life?” Everybody laughed and started to gather up their things to leave. But the lecturer said, “Wait a moment; sit down…because I do want to tell you the meaning of life….”
The lecturer removed from his wallet a tiny round mirror about the size of a quarter. He told the story of how, as a child during WWII, he’d lived in tremendous poverty. One day he was walking down the road and he saw the wreckage of a motorcycle. In that wreckage was a cracked mirror.
He said, “I tried to gather up all the pieces of that mirror and put it back together again, but I couldn’t find all the pieces, so I took the biggest piece and by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. It became for me a wonderful toy. My fun was to reflect the light of the sun into the darkest places I could find. Whenever I would get bored, I would pull out that little mirror, and I would reflect the sun into places where the light had never, ever been.” He added, “As I grew up, that act became a metaphor of what I could do with my life.” “I’m not the light,” he said. “I’m a reflector of the light, and my job is to get light into the darkest of places.”
We were made to witness. Humanity was made in the image of God. Aas God's image-bearers we were made to give spontaneous demonstrations of His Attributes! Even in our fallen state, the image of God is still intact and we see God in the love of a mother, in the provision of a father, in the person fighting for justice. The shepherds beheld the last Adam, the second Man (1 Cor 15:42-49).
Mary was reflective. The wonder of Christmas should fill our hearts with much to contemplate, treasure to meditate on throughout the New Year. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3).
The New Year should be one in which we are determined to think more deeply about what all of this means and tell others about our encounter with Christmas.
2. Leave Another Way
Matthew 2:11-12 ESV
11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Matthew's account of the Nativity differs from Luke's because he was writing to a different audience and had different intentions.
The mention of the "house" has been considered a contradiction or indicated a different timeline from the shepherds' visit. In our own minds, we have supplied the stable where Mary had the baby, but the only thing the text mentions is the manger.
More and more scholars are realizing that the manger was a fixture of the lower room in first-century houses in Palestine. The "inn" actually refers to the guest room, that was probably already filled with others in Bethlehem for the census.
So, you can leave the wise men in your Nativity scene with the shepherds.
The reality is that we do not know how much overlap happened between the time of the arrival of these two groups, and it really doesn't matter.
How many "Christmas" events have you attended or hosted this past week? Different individuals showed up with different gifts at different times.
At my cousin's home, we had a "white elephant" gift exchange. At my parents, it was more traditional. The shepherds showed up with heavenly news; the magi showed up with rich gifts.
You may not arrive the same way as others. You may not arrive at the same time. The important thing is that you arrive at Christmas.
More important still is that you leave different than you came, hopefully, better.
The shepherds showed up curious and left rejoicing.
The magi went out "another way."
Oh, isn't that the story of everyone who ever encountered Christ?
Jacob walked away limping with a new name. Moses's face glowed like a lightbulb.
Saul the first king of Israel became another man. Isaiah realized his own sinfulness and received a mission.
Peter became a fisher of men. Saul of Tarsus, the prejudiced nationalist Judaizer became the apostle to the Gentiles.
The magi went out another way. After Christmas, we ought to go another way.
They went back to their same jobs, but they went back another way. Something was different after their encounter with the Baby King.
"They went back to their own country." Christmas changes everything, but there are things that seem to remain the same. They were still employed as magi. They still had the same houses, families, kids, or whatever else they had, but...
They probably did their jobs differently. After Christmas, we ought to walk into the new year differently. I like the reality of the calendar that Christmas is the final holiday before the New Year.
As we think about the way Jesus came into the world as a helpless Babe, we ought to become a little more willing to be vulnerable.
Be a little kinder.
Those that are led of the Spirit. Gal 4:4
Not the law, but grace. Not the letter, but the Spirit.
3. Let The Spirit Lead
After Christmas, there are difficulties ahead.
After the holiday season, we will return to our jobs and our ministries.
The magi returned to their own country; the shepherds returned to their flocks.
After the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were dispersed and the worship party was over Mary had to feed the Christ Child and change diapers. She had housework to do and the anxiety of Herod's threat.
Joseph still had to provide for his wife and her Child. He still had to protect them.
The magi were "warned of God in a dream" (Matt 2:12). They were led by the Spirit to avoid Herod's threat, but the Spirit also led them back to their normal jobs. You can imagine their work was transformed. Not they did all that they did as unto the Lord!
The shepherds were led by Heaven and it changed the way they spoke!
As were leave the Christmas season and move towards walking into a brand new year. Our visit to the manger should revive our desire to be led by God.
The Bible says that it is Love that must lead us.
Paul speaks about walking in step with the SPIRIT.
The SPIRIT leads us to bear fruit, to love one another, in spite of the difficulties of life.
Conclusion:
As the Christmas season moves to a close and we head towards a New Year, will you tell somebody? Will you walk into the New Year another way? Will you allow the SPIRIT to lead?
"The Work of Christmas" by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.
(Bread for the Preacher, Dec. 2009)
