Articles
Spirit of Christmas
Spirit of Christmas
“I’m going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I’m going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.”
~Michael Crane on playing Scrooge in “The Muppet Christmas Carol”
A few years ago, there were commercials for a taco shell company where two children were arguing whether to use soft or hard taco shells for dinner that night. The solution to the argument came from the baby sister who just looks at the camera and says, “Why can’t we have both?” Naturally, the girl is the hero, and the product appears on the screen in both soft and hard varieties. Every Christmas season, people talk about the “Spirit of Christmas” being peace on earth and goodwill toward men. There is a turning of attention to family, home and hearth, and the joy of giving of oneself to others through charity, time, gifts, etc. All these things stem from the idea of people turning toward a mindset of simply thinking of a, notably distorted, biblical story.
Christians hear the words of Matthew 7:12 so that when Jesus says, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets,” and understand that the “Golden Rule” as it is often called, is a philosophy of life in general. An approach to life where one’s mindset is that someone does not deserve your kindness or generosity is a pathway to selfishness. Even when that person has done us wrong, it is not our place to hold a grudge. While we may protect ourselves from harm, when someone does us wrong, Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to Him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven [or seventy times seven] times.” Jesus is reminding us that “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11)
Christians understand that putting in work and effort for others and giving of oneself in acts of love are vital not only to the betterment of others, but to self as well. In the upper room, Jesus, Himself, “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.” (John 13:4-9) This was Jesus, the Master! The Teacher! The One whom we all should serve! Peter complained, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” “You shall never wash my feet.” The style of the writing of the bible does not tell details like this, but I imagine Jesus smiling at this, even in this serious moment of stress, as he says “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.” And Peter panicking saying, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus was trying to teach them about being a servant, and why it is important and a Godly mindset to have the spirit of a servant.
Christians hear the words of Jesus as they run contrary to or worldly desires as He spoke in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where both and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” As we read the bible, Christians hear the words of Amos 2:6-8 and see how terrible it is to be so absorbed into the desires of treasures of this world that we “sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals,” and, “trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted.” We understand how sinful it is to be obsessed with sex and sexuality so that “My Holy Name is profaned,” abusing one another to gratify the lusts of the flesh. Instead, we give to one another in a mindset of service to the Lord, because in serving each other, we also serve God.
What the vast majority of people do not understand is that Christians do not have to wait until Christmastime to experience all of these wonderful things that others experience only at Christmas time. We do not live like Scrooge only to have the spirits liven us to generosity and goodness upon the morning we do not have to work. Like the girl in the commercial, we do not have to choose when to be kind, or have peace and harmony, or when to give, or when to find joy in all that we do. We just say, “Why not have it all the time?” A Christian lives this every day, having that time of reflection to the biblical stories every first day of every week, in every season, and in every aspect of their life, experiencing the fruits of the Holy Spirit that doesn’t disappear on January 2nd as the alarm to go back to work wakes us from our final slumber of a winter holiday time.
Lance Byers
12/21/2024
- Spirit_of_Christmas_12-21-24.pdf (57.93 kB)
