Have you ever noticed how many popular Christmas songs have the words, “once again,” or “once more?”
Amy Grant’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
The first recorded acknowledgement of Christmas as the celebration of Christ’s birth was in 335 CE. So, friends, we’ve been doing this Christmas thing for a long, long time. There’s a certain weariness to our celebrations, depending on our social location, age, and family circumstances.
If you’re feeling the weight of “Christmas magic” in a different way this year, that’s OK. Be encouraged by the nostalgia and melancholy of these songs. Sometimes it’s difficult to put on our Christmas persona for ourselves and for others. Sometimes the joy of the season is hard to find.
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Colossians 3
Sometimes, compassion and joy don’t just shine out of us. Sometimes, even the best of us need to clothe ourselves with compassion – to “put on joy” like a garment. Sometimes by the grace of the Spirit, as we’re going through the motions of Christmas celebration, the joy returns.
Rest, beloveds. Rest – and then rest some more. Whether you’re feeling the joy of the season or not so much, you are enough just as you are.
PS the idea for this post emerged from a theological / philosophical / pastoral conversation between me (Karen, your intrepid webmaster) and Pastor Ken. We really do talk about spiritual stuff, even when there’s no one else around.