Now maybe you are already turned off from this blog, because I called it Xmas and not Christmas. But the two are interchangeable and it wasn’t made that way by the secular world. It was actually made that way by us as Christians. The “X” actually is the greek letter “Chi”, which is the symbol used for Jesus Christ. Short for XP which in the greek is pronounced “Chi Rho”.
But is it the thought of short changing Christ during the holidays that really makes us feel that upset about Thanksgiving and Christmas, or is it other things? A few years ago, I experienced something that Christmas was really NOT about. I was spending Thanksgiving with a buddy and his family in Wausau, WI. You see every year, after my freshman year of college, I made it a tradition to spend Thanksgiving somewhere other than home. I am very grateful for the families that have opened up their houses to me during this time of the year.
Which leads me to that Friday morning a few years ago in Wausau…My buddy Mark and I went out to a local electronics store looking for gifts for ourselves (unfortunately). As we were leaving the store, and yes we did get the gifts for ourselves, I remember seeing a guy on the pay phone (amazing to think there are very few out there seven years later) and I assumed he was talking. Actually, I could hear his wife yelling on the other end of the phone. She was ranting and raving about how she had asked her husband to get one gift and he didn’t get it. I also heard her say something about how she had gotten ten of the items on their list and he couldn’t just get that one computer for their kids. Now I don’t know if the husband didn’t get the gift because he slept in, or maybe he took the wrong turn in the store, or maybe he wasn’t sleeping at the store the evening before waiting to be one of three people that could get that gift.
But I do know this…that is not Thanksgiving or Xmas.
…Thanksgiving and Xmas are about the unconditional love that God had for us by sending His son to earth.
…Thanksgiving and Xmas are about the unconditional love that Jesus Christ showed us, by dying on the cross for our sins.
…Thanksgiving and Xmas are about the unconditional love the Holy Spirit shows us, by living in us.
…Thanksgiving and Xmas are about the unconditional love that your family has shown you by caring for you.
…Thanksgiving and Xmas are about the unconditional love that your friends have shown you by asking you the tough questions.
…So what are you thankful for?
…Family?
…Friends?
…God’s Grace?
…And better yet, what do Thanksgiving and Xmas mean to you?
These are some thoughts that are going into my web blog this month @ http://brianthefaust.wordpress.com. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts about this and the blog and what the holidays, Thanksgiving and Xmas mean to you.
Brian Faust
Director of Youth Ministries
brian@fumcgc.com
what do Thanksgiving & Xmas mean to… …you? Are you honestly excited about this time of year? Do you think we have made it so secular that we have forgotten the real reason? Or do you just not like this time of year all together?
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December 1, 2009 at 6:18 pm |
Family, friends, God’s Grace?? Those are the foundation of my whole life! What does Christmas mean to me?? Everything! I love the whole scene: shopping for gifts; wrapping the packages; decorating my home; experiencing the thrill on children’s faces; telling the story of Jesus’ birth over and over again; and especially saying “Merry Christmas!”
Every time I hear someone say “Happy Holidays” I am reminded that I have the freedom to say “Merry Christmas!” and I’m so thankful to God. This is not because I was born in America, although it could have been, not because my government says I can or cannot and not because my employment requires me to say it one way or the other or even because my parents might have told me to greet others one way or another. It is because I grew up saying “Happy Holidays” without even knowing why! You see I did not grow up in a Christian home like most of you reading this blog.
Don’t get me wrong. I did not grow up in a BAD home. I had great parents who loved me and was very well provided for all my life. I went to Sunday School and church pretty much every Sunday. But the church I grew up in did not teach about Jesus. If HIS name was mentioned at all, it was simply because he was a great teacher. There were no crosses in my church or in my home, no talk about a virgin birth, crucifixion, resurrection and certainly no need to be saved. I had a Bible and I read out of it every week – at church only of course. I did not like my church, but not because of any of these things. As a child I didn’t like my church because it made me stand out from my peers – made me feel different. None of my friends went to my church. I was not allowed to visit their church. I grew up in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and most everybody I knew went to church. You see, I didn’t have to have shots to go to school and I never saw the school nurse – even if I was sick. They just sent me home.
In Junior High I began asking questions about the cross I saw on my friend’s neck or the manger scenes I saw in town. I began asking questions about who Jesus was and why he was important to my friends but not to me. My Sunday School teacher didn’t answer my questions; instead she referred me to my dad who just told me this was not the way “we” believed. At Easter we got all dressed up and went to church and gathered Easter eggs but it was all about the Easter bunny. I was rather fearful of my father in those days and didn’t argue. As I got older and by the time I was in High School I was still asking the questions and getting no answers. If I tried to talk to my friends about this they looked at me like I was crazy or worse. After all who did not know Jesus?? I was invited to other churches and youth group activities. I was never allowed to go. At this point I did begin to challenge my dad but it really got me nowhere except angry and more frustrated. We argued about a lot of things actually. My church did not have youth group or any social activities. We just went on Sunday morning. That is how I learned to drive – back and forth to church. I was just going through the motions – resentful every Sunday.
But there was something always in the back of my mind that needed to know more. Why was my faith different? Who was this Jesus person? And by the time I was in High School, I also asked myself “Why did I care anyway?” It was at this time in my life, I know with all my heart, God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Read your Bible.” The thought was always there.
So I did. At night, hiding in my room, while listening to the Beatles or WLS on the radio, I was also reading my Bible. I started at the beginning, parts I was familiar with, but quickly got bogged down. You can probably guess where: laws and begets!! So I ventured into newer territory – The New Testament. This was a part of the Bible I was not so familiar with – at least not most of it. I began in Matthew. I found Jesus there!! I read more and more and learned all I could but my understanding was weak. I got excited by what I read and I knew in my heart this is what I wanted. I told God at that time I was ready and wanted Him to tell me more. I was the seed needing moisture. I know now this was the Holy Spirit actually planting that seed in my heart and in my mind. I went to the library and to any place I could learn more about Jesus. IN the 11th grade I began talking to my boyfriend, Eddie, about this. He grew up in the Presbyterian Church and he knew all about Jesus. I began going to his youth group although I never told dad that is where I was going. Eddie was not nearly so excited about all of this and he got tired of it pretty quickly. I was not the type of person to stand up for myself at that time and allowed him to talk me out of going to youth after a few months. I was a teen of the 70’s. I got into a lot of the stuff I was not supposed to be doing. After all even my friends who “knew Jesus” were doing the same things. It was all a mess in my mind.
I learned some things the wrong way. I talked to a lady that I babysat for because I knew her to be a Christian. There were crosses all over her house. She told me about a group that met in her basement once a week to pray and study God’s word. I got excited about that. I knew a lot of people in this group and they were very friendly. They talked about Jesus, about being saved, about sin and about going to hell. Now I started getting a bit scared. They also talked about how the world was going to end in 1984! (It was 1971 at the time.) This is when Jesus was going to return and all the sinners would be thrown into a lake of fire! I thought about my life and my own sin and I was scared to death. I wanted to be “saved” every single day! I was asking for forgiveness all the time because I didn’t really stop sinning. I was truly messed up and didn’t feel like I had anybody I could talk to. My boyfriend threatened to break up with me if I didn’t stop going to this meeting and listening to all the …well, you know. He was right, but he didn’t tell me why…
My best friend at the time, Marilyn, was a Baptist. We had talked about all of this a few times and she had invited me to her church but of course I couldn’t go. Her mom was a sweet lady with a very gentle voice who was divorced. I didn’t know anybody else who was divorced. I had some weird thoughts in my head about that too. My dad didn’t like me hanging out over there a lot because of the divorce thing. One day Marilyn said she had to be at church on Wed. at a certain time for rehearsal. I asked Marilyn about it and she told me she was playing Mary in the Christmas play. She invited me to come but I told her I couldn’t – no need to even ask. I really wanted to go. Marilyn knew that but she knew my dad too. Evidently Marilyn told her mom about this. The next time I was at her house her mom told me to not worry about this too much. She told me to keep Jesus in my heart and one day soon I would be old enough to make my own decisions and my own choices.
And she was right of course. She was a very wise lady.
At 18 I got brave enough to stand up to my dad and tell him I was no longer going to the church I grew up in – his church. And I never went back. He didn’t seem angry – maybe a bit sad, but he never questioned me. I was allowed to do what my heart told me to do. I expected something very different. My relationship with my dad began to grow on that day. I began going to my boyfriend’s Presbyterian church and to Sunday School – and eventually without him altogether. What a difference in my life. This was the beginning of my personal LONG journey toward walking with Jesus every day.
I didn’t always get it right and I went to extremes at times. I still had much to learn and I am still learning. It is not always an easy journey and I am still a sinner. But I know, without a doubt, that God himself touched me way back in High School and said “follow me”. The journey began on that day because I said “ok”. I am still following.
Years later, David, my husband, talked with my dad about Jesus Christ. He died of cancer soon after, with Jesus in his heart!!! And later still, I was able to share my faith with my mother. I trust God took care of her as well when she died of cancer. I thank God for my journey, even the rough spots because I know these difficult times are what have prepared me to minister to others.
“Merry Christmas!”
Debbie Bell