The Interruption of Christmas

I’m the kind of person who likes to maximize a good thing. If a thing is good, then more of it must be better, right?! I’ve always loved Christmas. So, for years, I operated with the assumption that the more I did and spent, the more I could maximize the joy that the holiday was supposed to bring. Unfortunately, it wasn’t joy getting maxed out – it was me! In all my attempts to capture joy, I often found myself feeling stressed and depleted.

It’s easy to lose sight of joy when we think it must be created, curated, or bought, right?

Luke 2 tells another story of joy that first Christmas. It’s a story of shepherds watching over their flocks who received good news from an angel, “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” That good news was the birth of a Savior, the Messiah, who was presently lying in a place that would be very familiar to shepherds – an ordinary feeding trough. 

As the shepherds were interrupted by this promise of joy, their response was not to maximize it but simply to investigate it and receive it. “Let’s go see this thing that the Lord has told us about!” The awareness of God’s presence is what brought them joy.

I, too, have discovered that joy is more straightforward than I’ve tried to make it. It is living with the awareness of God’s presence and grace. My invitation to all of us is that we would allow the interruption of Christmas to draw our spirits to go investigate this simple but outstanding news. And that as we do, we will discover God’s unfailing love made present in the ordinariness of life, sustaining, and satisfying us with joy.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90: 14


Pastor Julie Langenberg