The Meaning of the Season
This Christmas feels different. Quite frankly, I’ve had a hard time getting into the spirit of it. There’s a heaviness weighing me down. If I’m honest, it’s been there for a while. Now that we have entered the holiday season though, I’ve noticed it more. I’m supposed to be festive, but I’m not feeling it.
Maybe it’s the people we’ve lost this year. An aunt, an uncle, friends, and most recently my father-in-law. There’s a feeling of loss that casts a shadow over everything. At a time of year when we are normally making plans to gather, these dear ones aren’t here.
Maybe it’s COVID. For the majority of this year, we’ve been separated from family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. A lot of the traditional holiday assemblies are being cancelled. When we do go out, everyone is masked and keeping their distance. Even when I’m in the midst of other people, I often feel alone.
Maybe it’s the social and political unrest. The division in our country is greater than I ever recall. I wonder how it will all end.
2020 has shaken the ground beneath me so that what was once firm and familiar is now unsteady and unknown. One meme I’ve seen floating around social media is “I miss precedented times”. That says it all.
The packages have been steadily arriving for a couple of weeks now forming a pile beside the loveseat. I pass it multiple times a day and think I really need to get those wrapped. Last week, I decided to use a previously scheduled vacation day to knock out the task.
I sat on one ottoman and faced another using it as a makeshift table. Surrounded by wrapping paraphernalia, I set to work. I determined I needed Christmas music to get me in the mood so I pulled up a Christmas special and streamed it while I wrapped. As I listened to songs like O Holy Night and O Come All Ye Faithful and watched different participants recount the Christmas story, the heaviness began to lift.
I’ve always known that Jesus is the true meaning of the holiday season. I mean, who hasn’t heard the phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season”. But as my heart was bathed in the message of Christ’s birth, my focus began to move from a place of uncertainty to the One who is certain and sure.
Moments before, the tree, the lights, the gifts had felt empty and pointless, but when viewed through the wonder of Jesus miraculous arrival, the symbolism of these Christmas traditions was clear.
The tree speaks to the tree He died on. The lights proclaim He is the light of the world. The gifts echo the ones brought by the Magi.
The truth of Jesus Christ doesn’t just lend significance to Christmas, His presence gives substance to every aspect of life. Without Jesus, we are just going through the motions. There’s no hope, no light, no love. But with Him, even the mundane has a depth and purpose that only exists within Christ.
This Christmas, my hope is that the weight of these past months is lifted from you by true meaning of the season. May you find in Jesus hope, joy, and peace to carry you into 2021 and beyond.
Merry Christmas everyone.