standing with hope

by molly klima

Santa. Elf on the Shelf. Christmas plays. Manger scenes. Flashing lights and giant trees. Advent calendars with chocolate. Christmas songs and sleigh bells. Rudolph and clay-mation. Mini snow villages and Christmas cookies. Stockings and presents. Jingle Bell Rock on Christian radio stations. School party and weekly themes mania. Mariah Carey and Home Alone. What does it all mean?

Thinking through that list proves much easier to identify secular ways that we celebrate Christmas in America. The older I get, the older my kids get, I question how much we emphasize the fun during holiday celebrations instead of the holy events that they are. The objects we use to symbolize Christmas have little to nothing to do with reasons we actually celebrate. So many of them came from European traditions and were popularized here in the 1800’s. St. Nicholas, originally from modern-day Turkey, has gone through his own version of secularization. Think about the amount of time and money we invest in all the things that have nothing to do with the birth of Christ. So much of the hustle and bustle we create between November and December has more to do with a “magical” time than a Holy time.

Christmas is three days away. Joseph and Mary are traveling to Bethlehem. Their lives have been completely upended by Mary’s pregnancy, who is still a teenager. The census comes at the most convenient time as Mary is about to pop. I’ve never been pregnant, but also never met anyone who would want to make this trek 9 months pregnant. Joseph has committed himself to doing what he’s been instructed to do and here they are. It’s also interesting to think about the days following Jesus’ birth. Instead of going back home, Joseph chooses obedience again which takes this new family to Egypt. Jesus begins his life fleeing to a foreign land. Have we stopped at all in the past month or 24 hrs to think about what this was really like for them?

Strip back the glitz and glamour of Christmas and you’ll find that culture is driving our frenzy, not Christ. The lengths we go to in order for our kids to feel great during the most “magical”‘ time of year. The energy we put into making sure Santa and now the “Elf on the Shelf” are real. I’m not saying these things are wrong. Our kids believed in Santa until they were about 8 and 9. We had the Elf on the Shelf, lovingly named Giant Beanstalk, for maybe two years. My mom bought him after the boys were upset that they had elves at school but no elf visited our house. I had no intention whatsoever of joining in on that new tradition. If you know me, you know the likelihood of me remembering to move him AND create a fun scene every night was slim to none. Not my strong suit. Do you want to know what happened to Giant Beanstalk? Let me tell you.

One of our boys, who is not so easily fooled, moved a light the elf was sitting on and he fell off. Our dog, Tank, proceded to scoop poor Giant Beanstalk into his mouth and ran around the house, trying to tear him apart. In order to rescue Giant Beanstalk, I had to pull him out of the dog’s mouth which means…you guessed it! I had to touch him! YIKES! Annoyed but not wanting to crush all my kids’ hopes and dreams, we laid Giant Beanstalk on the Christmas tree branches and sprinkled him with glitter in hopes his magical strength would be restored enough to fly back to the North Pole. Well, about twenty minutes later I find that Giant Beanstalk has been removed from the tree by the other two boys who are now using him as a football. Giant Beanstalk left that night and never returned. I think he was found a couple years later shoved in boxes in the basement — such a sad demise.

But seriously, can we just pause in the midst of all the craziness and appreciate what this season is for Christ-followers? Is the birth of Christ another legend we all carry from childhood, or as Christ-followers, are we celebrating this out of reverence? Most of the world celebrates some version of Christmas. I often wonder during Christmas and Easter: How are we showing that we are in the world but do not belong to the world? What, if anything, sets us apart?

I’m still trying to figure this out for myself. It would be easier to leave things as they lie but I struggle to do so. Especially in a culture where following Jesus is much more a thing of the past and as some would say, we now live in a “post-Christian world.”

the big “what if”

So I just have a big “what if” to take into the last few days of the season and into the next year. What if we were so committed to our walks with Christ that distractions of Santa and magic didn’t take center stage? What if we pursued Jesus in a way that is evident and demonstrates importance to our kids? As our sons get older, I find us wanting to keep them in the loop more in difficult times so they can see the ways that God works in our struggles. Letting them experience the great wonder and redemption of Jesus is far better for their souls than the jolly guy sliding down the chimney once a year.

There are some things we do in an attempt to keep our kids focused on Christ and not shiny things. The key words in that sentence are “an attempt.” Three things quickly come to mind. By no means does this mean we are sitting around reading our Bibles 24hrs a day or only singing worship music with Alexa. It also doesn’t mean our children enjoy every second of it. I don’t want to paint a picture even for a second that just because we do these things that our celebration is always full of joy or peace. I realize these may seem too late to implement but there’s always next year!

Anticipation and advent

We spend time during the four weeks leading up to Christmas going through Advent. Advent means “arrival; coming”. It is the time to prepare for the birth of Christ and also at one point was the season of preparation before new believers would be baptized at Epiphany. Much like the world was in distress before the birth of Jesus and was groaning and anticipating the arrival of the Messiah; we relfect and wait for him again. Making a practice of Advent helps us to spend time each day over 4 weeks acknowledging that we are in need of a Messiah and keeping our eyes looking for him. These are three ways we create pause:

• Advent reading- We read through a series of books by Arnold Ytreeide. They are historical fiction and each book follows a kid on a journey full of danger and adventure that leads them to being near the birth of Christ. This year we are back to Bartholomew’s Passage. This is our second time reading it and the boys love it just as much now as they did 3 or 4 years ago.
• Advent wreath- pictured below is our advent wreath. The wreath was a hand me down from my mom that happened to fit perfectly on the outside of the ring of candles. Growing up in the Methodist Church, the lighting of advent candles was always a time to reflect on hope, joy, peace and love. We read our advent story by candlelight and it’s an ongoing reminder of the light of Christ.

• Advent calendar- my mother-in-law gets all the credit for this. She has a wooden calendar with 24 doors. Behind each door is a treasure for the boys. My mother-in-law, Marcia, is very creative and thoughtful. Nothing in the calendar is random. The boys find candies and coins. They also find scripture readings, prompts for gratitude, manger scene items and hymns. Each day it is as if something arrives and gives us the opportunity to pause and be thankful.

If there is great sadness or fear or disappoinment during this season for you, it’s okay. Life wasn’t perfect for Jesus and his family either, especially during the “first Christmas”. I hope you do have a Merry Christmas. I hope that the love and light of Jesus transcends all darkness. I hope that the reminder of his birth and the second coming we await reminds us this is not our home. Sweets and presents and music are wonderful, but let’s also remember Immanuel, the Wonderful Counselor and the Great I Am.