Worst Christmas Ever

“It is not materialism that is the chief curse of the world…but idealism. Men get into trouble by taking their visions and hallucinations too seriously.”  H.L. Mencken

Have you ever had a miserable Christmas? I’ve had a few. Do you know whose fault it was? It was my kids! No, that’s not true. It was my fault. The person who caused my unhappiness looked back at me from the mirror.

  Do you know the biggest cause of personal misery? Other than your own sin nature – idealism. I’m not sure that I’ve ever watched a Hallmark movie, at least I’m not going to admit it, yet between my ears I had a picture of a Hallmark Christmas…and when it didn’t turn out that way, I was disappointed, even angry.

  Ours is a world where the standard promoted is perfection. We shop for the perfect Christmas gift. We expect the perfect Christmas gift. We attempt to take perfect Christmas pictures. We want the perfect house when all of the relatives visit. We want our kids to be perfectly behaved. Our spouse is to be perfectly dressed, loving and helpful. We try to prepare the perfect meal and the weather needs to cooperate and be perfect. So, how’s that working out for you? Not so good…that’s what I thought.

  So, please turn off the TV, set aside the Christmas cards with pristine scenes, walk hurriedly by the perfect nativity scenes at Kohl’s and clear out those imaginary pictures in your mind. That first Christmas was not only not ideal, it was a huge mess, glorious, yes, but still a mess. Why?

  Mary and Joseph were traveling a long way from home. It’s about 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Assuming approximately 20 miles a day on the back of a donkey when Mary is nine months pregnant (Joseph no doubt walked the whole distance). How ideal are you at traveling with no modern conveniences? Add, to that it was hot, dry and dusty.  

    Mary and Joseph were going to Bethlehem to be taxed, and so was everyone else. How do you feel about taxes? How do you feel about large crowds? Does it put a big smile on your face and put you in a great mood? Do you like being shoved and jostled? I didn’t think so.

  Were you born in a barn? Dave and Karyn Borucki raise goats and recently had a litter all born at the same time. I dropped by to congratulate them and check out the new kids. They were glad to see me but Dave warned me to be careful where I stepped. When you think of clean or sanitized, does “barn” come into your mind? Have you ever been in a barn that didn’t smell?

  Most mothers aren’t beautiful during childbirth. I’m sure that Joseph thought Mary was beautiful. I’ve had the awesome experience of being there for the birth of my three children. After hours of labor and with that first small cry, Jane was the most beautiful woman in the world to me. On a human level though, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.

  Then, where is that OB-GYN? Joseph was the OB-GYN, nurse and everything else. What are most first-time Dads like when their wife is giving birth? Frantic, nervous, terrified. Then, you realize all that blood is not from the baby, but from your wife. There were no sanitary receiving blankets. Swaddling clothes are cloths used in the practice of swaddling, or essentially “wrapping” an infant tightly in cloth. The idea behind it is that it helps the baby transition from the womb (a very snug place) to the outside world. So, no doctors or nurses. Not even a midwife. Just a young Dad, his teenage wife and their brand new son.

  The first visitors smelled too. We’ve glamorized the shepherds. We’ve given them long flowing, colorful robes and put perfectly shaped shepherds rods in their hands. Everyone’s beard is immaculately trimmed and of course they’re kneeling in a very reverent pose. On many Christmas cards, baby Jesus is smiling and looks like He’s even waving at them.

  But these guys were ordinary shepherds, blue collar workers. They made just enough money to survive. They had rough hands, clothes that were dirty and tattered from a life out in the open fields. As they came to Jesus, they smelled like sheep and human body odor. They were working stiffs doing an ordinary job on an ordinary night when they had an extraordinary encounter with God.

  Even the lighting was far from perfect. We take electricity for granted. Walk in a house, flip a switch and we have light…lots of it. Our family has vacationed a few times in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until then, I don’t think that I realized how dark darkness could be.

  Maybe you’ve had to change a tire or work on a car problem in the dark. The oft repeated phrase is, “move that light over here.” But what if there was no light. Just an ancient lantern that’s very susceptible to a slight breeze snuffing it out. And you’re in the midst of a medical procedure that you have no experience in. There are no copies of Delivering Babies for Dummies lying around. You can’t even Youtube it.

  What’s the lesson for us? We must learn to look for God in the less than ideal, in the ordinary and not the spectacular. What was for them so ordinary became so eternally extraordinary! And it was all God!

  Over the next few days as you approach Christmas, put your antenna up and look for divine encounters in your everyday life. Take a page out of Mary’s book. The Bible tells us that this teenage Mom treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Focus on the Savior who left the perfection of heaven to come to a dirty, smelly world for dirty rotten sinners like you and me. This Christmas take some  time to ponder all that’s happening and be “amazed” as all who heard it were amazed at the shepherds' story (Luke 2:18). Everyone heard about it. Most were impressed for a New York minute. But God gave His Son for us so that we’d be amazed! It’s why for those who know Him know it’s Amazing Grace! This Christmas, please take some time and be amazed again!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.