BLOG ENTRY 022: What Christmas Means to Me
This year, I feel that the holiday, the most beautiful day of the year, is just another day I get off. As I’m writing this, my heart twists with the realization that I have been caught up in the work of the holiday season, not the joy it brings. I can imagine for other baristas; we are just the ones who provide the holiday spirit and forget to receive for ourselves. For those in the work force or students who had just completed their semester, we are crawling towards a rest. The question I found myself asking at the moment is,
What does Christmas mean to me?
I am so caught up with what the holidays offer for others who are celebrating with engagement announcements, surprising trips to see their families, showing the internet the next best sentimental gift to buy, or the next festive function to prepare and attend. Yep, that’s a list. To be honest, I am forgetting what the real reason I choose to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
I have been reading in Luke this month, as this book in the Bible tells us about how Jesus felt. There are so many stories and parables Jesus tells his followers and disciples. Let me just share the ones that I have highlighted:
Martha and Mary Luke 10:38-42
During the holidays, it’s easy to be distracted and worried to the point that we become farsighted and eventually forget who we invited to our house to celebrate with. I prayed that I became less like Martha and more like Mary. I don’t want to complain and accuse others because we idolize serving. We get so caught up what to do and not who is there, and we call out others to deepen our distraction from spending time with the Lord. We also want the Lord in our control and not us in his. I would rather choose the good portion because it will not be taken away from me, which is the position of sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to what He is teaching me.
The parable of the Great Banquet Luke 14:12-24
These twelve verses guide us through a master and his servant. Since there was no such thing as email invites or social media to share the news with, the master has sent out his servant to invite people he selected to join his banquet. The servant came back saying that the people he invited had other things to do. The master didn’t cancel this party, so he had told his servant to out to the poor, the crippled, and the lame but since the servant knows his master, he already did, and the banquet wouldn’t be full. So, the servant was sent to compel others from highways and hedges. I can tell that the master was disappointed that his friends didn’t come because they had made excuses. But he had a goal: to make his house full. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know every single person who came, or what their condition or background was. To me, that is what made his banquet great. It got me thinking; how many times are we invited to be with the Lord to rest at the table with Him but decline because we had made excuses? How many times have we missed out on the great things he has for us because we simply remove ourselves away from him? The holidays can disguise the truth of our intentions. I choose to open and accept the invitation to sit at his table, no matter what condition my heart is in or what mood I’m in. He will always give us the extended invitation to rest and recline with Hm, instead of controlling the situation because he has already handled the situation before we get the table.
He provides for us, even when we don’t feel it, especially during the holidays.
The Birth of Jesus Christ Luke 2:1-21
The most special story for the most wonderful time of the year. This is the celebration you don’t want to miss. This is where I would sit and watch. Mary was chosen to carry the son of God, which was an unlikely choice for us as a society to see, but God knew what he was doing. There was a lot of faith here, because Mary had to carry out the prophecy that was set all the way back to the Old Testament. Joseph also needed faith to believe what God was doing through his relationship with Mary.
There was no place for Jesus but in a manger, in a barn, the lowliest. The shepherd boy represents what Jesus was sent to do, to lead us and rescue us from sin. The three wise men represents the holy trinity, as they came with gifts. The star also has a part in the story, it’s the light they all followed, the narrow path that led them to Jesus. I am choosing to be like Mary and treasure this moment in my heart for the reason for the season.
In short, the Bible has shown me the true meaning of Christmas, to rest in Him, and watch Him provide for me. Not worrying about how many gifts I need to buy for others or wonder what they got for me. Adding gratitude to what I’m giving and enjoying the best gift I could ever get, which is the love of Jesus and celebrating the life he had here on Earth and has in Heaven.
