Christmas This Year | 02 | Christmas Courage

The two words don’t seem to belong together, do they? Oh I suppose there were years when it took courage to get up at 3:30am on Black Friday to shop at Walmart, but some would say that is more craziness than courage. Surely it doesn’t take courage to get through Christmas. Let’s continue our thoughts about THIS Christmas.

Even before COVID-19 the Christmas holiday was difficult for many people. For some, the real condition of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) created real symptoms of depression, fatigue, hopelessness and social withdrawal. Although treatable, the disorder touches more than three million people in the United States. For others, the holidays serve as a trigger, reminding them of the loss of a loved one. Empty chairs emphasize the absence of a loved one’s presence. It has taken courage to maneuver through the difficult pathways of Christmas.

COVID Pathways

A few churches in almost every urban area have begun having services in the season to help people navigate a “Blue Christmas.” Many chose to hold the service on December 21st, the season’s darkest day. The services are quieter, with less festive expressions of joy. COVID conditions caused many of those churches to postpone those plans, a year when the feelings of loss associated with bereavement may be more severe.

COVID. It seems we cannot talk about anything without mentioning COVID. A television commercial featured a company spokesman wishing us a “Happy holiday with the new normal.” This year’s normal has been a year of loss. Many have endured loss of employment – or at least the uncertainty of the outcome of employment, health and relationships. Safety, freedoms and mobility find themselves compromised.

COVID has dramatically shipwrecked our lives, whether we test positive or not. It is easy to wring your hands and throw up your arms, tired and weary of the fight. Why decorate the house – no one is coming over? Why buy presents – no one will be here to celebrate? We are all grieving the loss of tradition, rituals and comfort – but perhaps more importantly, we are grieving the loss of fellowship.

Even though we cling to traditions at the holidays, Christmas has always been about adapting quickly to change. There have been times when you have experienced it in your family – an illness keeps someone away, a leaner financial year causes less spending, or even weather can demand a change of plans. It takes courage to handle change in a positive way that still creates a meaningful experience.

First Christmas Changes

Changes were a constant part of the story of the birth of Christ. Think for a moment of the unbelievable tsunami of change that washed over the lives of Mary and Joseph. It is easy to gloss over, but Mary’s pregnancy must have created a scandal in those days. Matthew’s gospel uses a telling phrase, Joseph did not want “to expose her to public disgrace” (Matthew 1:19). Angelic intervention prompted an adaptive Joseph. It would have been much easier to “divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).

Just when things were becoming a “new normal” for Joseph, the government stepped in to foul things up. “In those days Caesar Augustus issues a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world” (Luke 2:1 NIV). There was no “online balloting”; everyone had do go to their home town to register. Isn’t that more than inconvenient? If President Donald Pelosi Biden made such a decree, my destination would be Terre Haute, Indiana. I haven’t been there in ages. Would it be terribly unbiblical to imagine Joseph thinking, “Oh no! This is all that I need – a trip to Bethlehem!”

Changes for Mary and Joseph

It is difficult to construct an exact chronology for the events, but by the time the magi arrived, Mary and Joseph were in a house, perhaps a rented one (Matthew 2:11). When Herod wanted to make sure that he killed this “new born king,” he had all the boys in the Bethlehem region two and under put to death (Matthew 2:16). Joseph and Mary could have been in Bethlehem 18 months with their toddler. Another message from an angel prompted Joseph to avoid Herod’s wrath by taking the family to Egypt. While Matthew records the trip’s prophetic significance, there is also a practical aspect to the change. Joseph was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:55). But the word for “carpenter” in the Greek carries a larger connotation that simply one who works with wood. The word might be better translated as “builder” and could have included stone masonry. Egypt was a destination where Joseph could find work.

Changes for Everyone Else

But Mary and Joseph were not the only ones who were forced to change that first Christmas. Shepherds watching their flocks in the Palestinian hills saw an angelic choir and left their flocks – an unimaginable sin – to discover more about the child. Magi wandered across a Mediterranean countryside to find the one “born king of the Jews.” Later, they altered their route for the trip back home because of a fear of King Herod. Joseph’s family had to adapt to a new-born in the home. Mary is away from her closest network of support. Change happens. How do you adapt so there is still meaning?

Finding Meaning in Spite of Change Takes Courage

Isn’t that the dilemma facing us this Christmas? How can I find meaning in the midst of change? Finding the meaning takes courage. Don’t be too harsh on yourself this season. Accept that change is occurring. Focus on things that have not gone away. Perhaps the only thing that hasn’t changed for you is the baby in the manger.

When COVID hands you lemons, are you able to make lemonade? When COVID spreads germs all over your Christmas, what type of Lysol wipes will you use to make it holy and clean? It’s time we have the courage to be creative.